True Power
by SNOzzie6
Summary: There's something special about Rylee. She's starting to figure things out, but there's still a lot more she has to learn. Based off of Pokémon: Black and White with some original events. I own only my OCs. The adventure continues in part 2 of A Valiant Voice.
1. According to Legend

Before I get things up and rolling again, let me take the time to recap. Some of you might be reading this first, and if you are, I recommend you read my first story to have a better grasp of things. **However, if you already know what's going on, you can skip this part and dive right back into the action. Just look for the next bolded text.**

My name is Rylee. I'm traveling with my friends Ash, Iris, and Cilan through the Unova region. Our main goal in mind is traveling to the gyms strewn across the region so Ash can challenge them and earn eight badges, allowing him to enter the Unova League. I have my own personal agenda to attend to. As I went along on my journey, I started to realize that I have special abilities no human on earth has. I say "no human" because, technically, I myself am only half-human, inherited from my mother, Delilah. The other half of myself, inherited from my father, Brand, is, in fact, Pokémon.

Let me explain. All this started to unravel when I began experiencing these dreams where a mysterious creature came and spoke prophetically to me. After some research and reveal, the creature turned out to be Reshiram, the legendary Vast White Pokémon. Call him what you wish: legendary, awesome, majestic. My mom calls him Brand; I prefer to call him Dad.

With each event that took place along my journey, the powers inside me developed, surfaced, and strengthened. I had to know what the heck was going on, so my friends and I traveled to Eindoak Town, a place home to a castle called the Sword in the Vale. I found a secret area in the castle and there at the heart of the area rested my father, Reshiram. He told me who, or what, I really am: a Pokémon. Well, 50% of me, that is. When I was born, I spent the first hours of my life in my true Pokémon form, the legendary Time Travel Pokémon, Celebi. Since I'm a Pokémon, I have access to abilities that Pokémon possess: using Pokémon moves, conversing with and understanding Pokémon, as well as special abilities of my own, inherited from my father, such as the ability to transform into my Pokémon form, Celebi, and ESP, born through the memories of myself and those around me. Now, the moves and speaking powers came first, but the ability to transform took the longest to develop. As far as I know, I haven't been a Celebi since infancy.

But the events that are happening have awakened that power in me. My friends and I traveled to Milos Island to get some Revival Herbs for Clay, the Driftveil City Gym leader, but supply was very scarce. A boy we befriended, Lewis, suggested we summon Landorus, the legendary Pokémon and the guardian of Milos Island. We managed to summon a Pokémon, but it wasn't Landorus. It was another member of the legendary trio, Tornadus, and soon after Thundurus came along and the two engaged in a heated battle that's lasted since long, _long_ ago. Landorus tried to stop Thundurus and Tornadus, but they ignored him and instead directed their attacks towards him. Eventually, the intense fighting exhausted them, and apparently that's what Team Rocket, an evil organization from the Kanto region, wanted. They were the ones that brought Tornadus and Thundurus to Milos Island and they wanted me and my friends to summon Landorus, that way, after they weakened each other, Team Rocket could swoop in and capture them. I wasn't to let their plan succeed, so I frantically thought of a plan. My father's voice in my head told me it was time for me to "unleash my true power as a Pokémon Guardian". While I don't understand what a Pokémon Guardian is, as well as many other things my father refuses to tell me about, I did understand what he meant by true power. I took off after Team Rocket, climbing and jumping over rocks the height of Golurks and Serperiors. I jumped into the air, being overcome by light. My body suddenly shrunk about 4 feet, and I lost about 130 pounds, and when the light dispersed, there I was, flying in my true Pokémon form, Celebi, and heading straight for Team Rocket.

**I think that's enough reminiscing for now. **Let's see what other crazy stuff will happen that my friends and I will encounter. Whatever it is, wish us good luck.

* * *

As I flew closer towards the helicopter, I could see the astonished expressions of Jessie, James, and Meowth, feeling also the awe of my friends watching below.

_The cages holding the trio won't so much as dent when attacked from the inside or outside. I guess I'll have to attack the source!_

I shot my hands out and hurled balls of AncientPower into the helicopter. It lurched to the side. I followed with a double Hyper Beam. The flying vehicle groaned menacingly.

_Zorua told me I knew Giga Impact. Let's try that out..._

I slowly curled up, like I was preparing to cannonball into a pool. The top of my head grew very warm. The energy spread down around my body to my feet in a shield of white and yellow power. I shot forward and slammed into the side of the helicopter. Bits of metal scraps and debris broke away and fell down around me. I backed away, gripping my head.

_Ouch. Note to self, don't slam into helicopters for a living._

I watched as Dr. Zager pushed a button on the helicopter's control panel. The container holding the legendary Pokémon trio dropped right by me before exploding. I cried out as I began falling to the ground. Light surrounded me and I saw I had transformed back into my human self.

"Rylee!" the voices of my friends calling out to me pumped adrenaline into my veins.

I suddenly stopped falling. I looked up to see Landorus hovering over me, holding me in his arms. Behind him, I saw Tornadus zoom over and hurl a baker's dozen of fresh Energy Balls at him. My attempts to warn him came out as a pathetic "GUH!" and the attack hit him in the back. He groaned and lurched forward. I fell out of his hands and fell to the ground again. I shot my hand out and created a plateau of Protect. I landed on it and slid off, landing on my hands and knees.

"Rylee! You did it!" Ash said. "You saved Landorus, Thundurus, and Tornadus!"

I stood up slowly and looked up at the trio as the battle resumed as if nothing happened. "But they're _still_ fighting. Who knows if they ever will?!"

"Guys, look!" Iris said. "Landorus is injured!"

We looked to see a bruised Landorus floating in the air, clutching his shoulder.

"But if Landorus can't fight..." Ash said.

"Wait, I know!" Iris said. "The Revival Herb! Remember from the legend?"

"Right!" Lewis said.

"But Lewis, where can we find Revival Herbs at this time?" Cilan said.

"Right here." I took off the Revival Herb that laid around my neck.

"Where did you get that?!" Lewis said.

"Lilligant gave it to me back at the cabin." I said. "She let me use one to heal myself and told me to save this one for later. This must be what she meant: to save Landorus and heal him!"

We heard the cry of Landorus and we looked to see two more of Tornadus's and Thundurus's attacks hit him head on.

"Landorus!" Lewis said. "Rylee, can you get the Revival Herb to Landorus?"

"I won't get it to him fast enough." I said. I paused. "But Gothorita can..."

Landorus smashed into the side of the mountain, creating a large crater. Tornadus and Thundurus loomed over him.

"Gothorita! Send the Revival Herb to Landorus!" I cried. I took the vial and threw it as hard as I could. Gothorita used her powers to take hold of the vial and send it flying over to Landorus. Tornadus and Thundurus attacked with Air Slash and Discharge. There was a large explosion. We waited in fearful anticipation.

As the smoke subsided, there floated Landorus, shielding itself with Protect. We all sighed in relief. Landorus flew high up and let out a powerful cry.

"We did it!" Lewis said. " 'Injured from its battle with Thundurus and Tornadus, Landorus received a Revival Herb from an islander and recovered! And Gothorita gave it power!' It's just like the legend!"

"Now Landorus can defeat Tornadus and Thundurus!" Cilan said.

"Do it, Landorus!" Ash cried. "Stop Tornadus and Thundurus, and save the island!"

Landorus looked down at us and nodded. Tornadus and Thundurus charged, but Landorus used Extrasensory to push them back. Collecting his hands together, he launched a giant Hyper Beam at the two. There was another explosion. There, floating in the air, Thundurus and Tornadus hung with exhaustion. Landorus came over and he pressed a hand on their chests. They all glowed with a purple aura.

"Landorus is conveying its thoughts." Cilan said.

Gothorita chanted and it glowed the same purple.

"Gothorita's doing the same as well." Lewis said.

"So will I." I said. I stepped beside Gothorita, bringing my hands together and holding them over my heart. I bowed my head and my body tingled.

"_Tornadus and Thundurus._" Landorus, Gothorita, and I said. "_This battle must come to an end. Release your past angers and look forward into the future of hope and peace._"

The trio Pokémon glowed even brighter. Finally, the light subsided. I opened my eyes and looked up to see Tornadus and Thundurus turn to each other with calm expressions.

"_Thundurus..._" Tornadus said. "_All this battle brought forth was destruction. Truce?_"

Thundurus nodded. "_Yes, brother. Truce._"

"_My friends._" Landorus said, placing a hand on their shoulders.

"It looks like Landorus got through to them!" Ash said.

The trio Pokémon approached us. Lewis stepped forward.

"Landorus, I ask you..." he said. "Please heal this land."

Together, Landorus, Tornadus, and Thundurus healed and raised up luscious fields of Revival Herbs as far as the eye could see. As we looked at the Revival Herbs, we saw Lilligant prancing through the field.

"Lilligant! You're all better!" Lewis said.

We looked to the trees, where we saw the forest Pokémon emerge, looking healthier than ever.

"All of the Pokémon are returning!" Iris said.

The clouds departed and warm sunlight engulfed the island.

"Milos Island is back to the way it used to be." Lewis said, wiping away a joyful tear.

* * *

I walked over to the trio Pokémon.

"Landorus, Thundurus, Tornadus." I said. "Thank you."

"_Thank you, daughter of Reshiram._" Landorus said.

"Please, call me Rylee."

"_Guardian of Pokémon,_" Tornadus said. "_your duty to the world has now been realized._"

"My duty? Guardian of Pokémon? I don't know what you're talking about."

"_I suggest you seek guidance from your father. And from within yourself._"

"_We wish to thank you._" Thundurus said. "_Here._"

Each of the three brought their hands together, creating a ball of energy: orange for Landorus, green for Tornadus, and neon blue for Thundurus. They released the energy into the air. They clashed together into one ball of multicolored energy. It burst and sparkles of light rained down around me. A small ball of white light, about the size of a tennis ball, floated down to me. I reached out and watched it fall into my hands. The light subsided and revealed a golden locket. I pinched the chain between my thumb and index finger and held it in front of my face.

"What's this for?" I asked. As I watched the locket spin around, I noticed the design on the front. The front of the locket had the Japanese symbol for "sister", engraved in purple.

"_There is only one other locket like that in the world._" Landorus said.

_What, does Alyssa have it?_ I thought, assuming from the engraving on it.

"Thank you. It's beautiful." I said. I laid the locket back in my hands and gently cupped them together. "Milos Island will forever be grateful to you."

"_Farewell, Rylee._" the legendary Pokémon trio said. One by one, Thundurus, Tornadus, and Landorus took off up into the sky.

I took the locket and clipped it on. It rested right above Articuno's PokéBall. I placed a hand over my heart, feeling the PokéBall displayed proudly to the world and the small bump of my new locket hiding in secret, waiting for its true meaning to be revealed. Thundurus's words replayed in my mind.

_The last time I tried to press Dad for more information, he shut me down and kicked me out of the Cataclysm of Dreams. But... I should try again. Whatever he's hiding, he'll have to tell me at some point._

* * *

We waved goodbye to Lewis as out boat set sail. Ash clutched the burlap sack stuffed to the brim with Revival Herbs in his hand.

"Now, we can get these to Clay and I can have my gym battle!" Ash said.

I sat cross-legged on the bench and looked out into the sea. I watched the water glide underneath the boat and kiss the sides. I fiddled nervously with my hands.

"Rylee." a voice said. I turned my head to see Cilan with Zorua on his shoulder. She jumped down into my lap.

"_This is incredible!_" Zorua said. "_Now you can transform into your Pokémon form, just like your dad!_"

"Yeah, just like my dad..." I said, turning my eyes back to the clear blue below.

"What's wrong?" Cilan said. He sat down beside me. I could feel the warmth of his legs radiating into my knees. "What's on your mind?"

"Everything." I said. "So many crazy things have happened in such a short period of time."

"But you have to admit, it's been fun."

"_Yeah. Like remember when Pansear got so mad at Chili that it blew fire in his face?_" Zorua said, busting up in a flurry of mischievous giggles.

I looked away and forced the memory of Chili's lips out of my head. Cilan noticed.

"Did something happen between you and my brother?" he said.

"Um..." I said. I looked him in the eye to seem believable. "Nothing really. He just told me some unusual things, thanked me for helping him and Pansear, but I assure you everything's fine."

Cilan stared at me and I could feel my facade crumbling slowly. I tried my best to internally patch the leaks and cracks. He knew I was lying.

"All right." he said finally. He stood up and walked back to Iris and Ash. Shoving his hands in his pockets, he stared out over the sea.

Zorua jumped out from my lap and sat in Cilan's spot.

_"He knows." _ Zorua telepathized.

"What? What do you mean?" I said, my voice low.

_"Something happened between you and Chili, and it was more than "a few words". What was it again? Oh, it's on the tip of my tongue... or in this case, I should say lips."_

My eyes widened and I glanced at Cilan's back.

_"He... he knows?" _I replied through mental communication. I turned back to Zorua. _"How do you know?"_

_"He doesn't just know... he _saw _it._" Zorua placed her paw over my hand.

Images flowed into my mind. I saw Chili and I at the battlefield in the Driftveil City Pokémon Center. I watched him kiss me, and I swallowed down the vile taste that arose in my mouth. Suddenly, the view panned out and I saw someone standing at the entrance, hidden in the shadows. Cilan. I saw him stand there in shock, along with many other emotions flashing across his eyes. He stepped back behind a pillar. As I ran out of the battlefield, Cilan took a deep breath and walked onto the field.

_"Chili, there you are!"_

The images ripped out of my mind. I gasped and yanked my hand out from under Zorua's paw, causing her to yelp in surprise.

_"That's what I saw when I jumped onto his shoulder." _Zorua said.

I gulped. _"Is that all he knows?"_

_"I think so. Why, was there something else?"_

I looked at Cilan and my heart grew heavy. I clenched my fist.

_"It's obvious to me that you like Cilan... and since I know my brother so well, it's obvious to me that he feels the same way!"_ Chili's voice echoed in my mind.

"Rylee?" Zorua said.

"I need to go inside." I whispered. I stood up and retreated to my room.

* * *

~TPPOV~

Cilan listened absentmindedly to Iris and Ash chattering excitedly about the events that just took place on Milos Island. But his mind was in a much different place- the town where they were heading to now. Driftveil City, a town that would haunt his nightmares. A single moment repeated in his mind on a continuous loop, and nothing he tried shook the thought away. He thought he'd gotten over it, but it was clear that he wasn't even close to being able to cope with the pain he felt in his heart.

He heard Zorua yelp behind him, but he thought nothing of it. He fixated his gaze on the waves rolling under the cruiser.

_"He... he knows?"_

Cilan side-glanced at Iris and Ash, but they continued giggling about who-knows-what; he really stopped paying attention a long time ago... not that they noticed. He figured it wasn't them; it sounded like Rylee, but he was too nervous to look back. He took a deep breath and lifted his eyes to the sunset. Right now it seemed to only set his tone of melancholy.

_"It's obvious to me that you like Cilan... and since I know my brother so well, it's obvious to me that he feels the same way!"_

Cilan gasped quietly. The sentence came from his brother, Chili. It couldn't be- he was hundreds of miles away. But the sentence resonated in his mind and heart.

"I need to go inside." He turned around as Rylee whispered to Zorua. She stood up, her head low, as she hurried into the boat.

As his eyes followed Rylee, a sweet feeling filled Cilan's chest. His body trembled with the wave of nerves and doubt that arrived soon after. He turned back to the ocean. The sunset began to show its true colors once again- that feeling of hope and awe-inspiring beauty. A small, self-assuring smile spread across his lips.


	2. A Cave Surging with Mystery

We delivered the Revival Herbs to Clay, who finally accepted Ash's gym battle challenge. Ash beat Clay and received his 5th gym badge. The next gym we set off to was the Mistralton City Gym.

"According to my map, Chargestone Cave is just up ahead past the forest." Cilan said, glancing up from his map.

"What's Chargestone Cave?" Ash said.

"Well, it's a cave made up of electrically charged rocks and boulders." Cilan said. "People who have gone through the cave always say that there's a ton of mystery within it."

"Electrically charged stones?" Ash said. "Sounds like something you'd like, Pikachu!"

We looked at Pikachu, who suddenly looked exhausted and weak. He fell to the ground.

"Pikachu! What's wrong?" Ash said, scooping him into his arms.

We noticed a small yellow Pokémon latched onto Pikachu's back.

"A Joltik!" Iris said.

"Joltik's been draining Pikachu's electricity!" I said.

Ash tried to pry Joltik off. Oshawott came out and tried to help, but the Joltik fired a Thunderbolt at them, hopped off Pikachu, and scurried away.

"Are you okay, Ash?" I said.

"I'm fine, but Pikachu needs help!"

"Here, Stunfisk's Thundershock can help." Cilan said.

"Emolga can too!" Iris said.

Iris and Cilan fished out their PokéBalls, but Joltiks clung to them, sucking up their electricity. They ran off and Emolga and Stunfisk came out looking just as bad as Pikachu.

"We've got to get them to a Pokémon Center, quickly!" I cried.

* * *

"Thank you for waiting!" Nurse Joy's cheerful voice filled the room. "Your Pokémon are doing just fine!"

"Thank you, Nurse Joy!" Iris said.

Iris, Cilan, and Ash collected their Pokémon.

"You're very welcome!" Nurse Joy said. "Although... it's very strange to see Joltik, since they don't live around here."

"Huh?" we all said.

"Outta the way, outta the way! OUTTA THE WAY!" a voice cried.

We turned around and Iris, Cilan, and I jumped away as Bianca came running in. She slammed into Ash and sent him flying into the fountain next to us. He sat up, sputtering and coughing up water.

"BIANCA!" he cried. "What now?! Why are you in such a hurry?!"

"I am so sorry!" Bianca said, quickly giving him small bows. "It's just that my X-transceiver suddenly stopped working!"

She handed it to Nurse Joy and she examined it. "I think the battery is dead!" she said. "Don't worry, I'll get this charged up."

"In the meantime, I'm going to give Professor Juniper a call!" Bianca said.

Bianca walked over to the video chat computer and called up Professor Juniper.

"Bianca, hello!" she said. "How are you?"

"I'm fine!" Bianca said. "I'm actually at the Pokémon Center right nearby where you are-!"

Ash jumped in front of Bianca. "Hi, Professor Juniper! It's me, Ash!" he said.

"Oh, hi! I guess everyone's here!" Juniper said. We all squeezed into the camera view.

"It's good to see you, Professor Juniper!" Iris said. "Where are you?"

"I'm at Chargestone Cave." Juniper said.

"Hey, that's where we're headed!" I said.

"That's great! Maybe I'll see you there-"

The call suddenly got cut off.

"Huh? What happened?" Cilan said.

Nurse Joy came over and handed Bianca her X-transceiver. The power in the room went out as well.

"What's going on?" Iris said.

"The power's gone out." Nurse Joy said. "The back up generator should be up in a bit."

A few moments later, the lights flickered back on.

"Why did the power go out?" Ash said.

"I'm not sure..." Nurse Joy said.

"Think about it, guys." I said. "Those Joltik we ran into drained Pikachu, Emolga, and Stunfisk, who are all Electric-type Pokémon. Maybe they drained the Pokémon Center's electricity too."

"If they did, why?" Cilan said.

"Maybe Professor Juniper will know." Bianca said. "Let's head to Chargestone Cave!"

"Wait, guys! Look out the window!" Iris said. We looked to see a couple of Galvantula crawl past the window. "Those Galvantula must be the cause of this."

"I believe you're right." Nurse Joy said. "This is very strange to see Galvantula over here. They get all of their electricity from the stones in Chargestone Cave."

"Maybe this all hasn't been a coincidence." Cilan said. "Perhaps the Pokémon weren't able to use the cave, so they drained our Pokémon instead."

"That makes sense..." I said. "But what would prevent them from using Chargestone Cave?"

"Maybe when we go to see Professor Juniper, we could investigate as well!" Bianca said.

"If you do, please be careful." Nurse Joy said.

"We will, Nurse Joy." Cilan said. "And thank you!"

* * *

As we made our way to Chargestone Cave, Bianca told us about how she was going to trade her Shelmet with Professor Juniper's Carrablast. Cilan explained they would both evolve during the trading process, so Bianca would receive an Escavalier. Suddenly, a pair of Galvantula blocked our path. Pikachu whimpered.

"It's okay, Pikachu." Ash assured.

Bianca called out Minccino. "Leave this to me! Minccino, use Thunderbolt on that tree!" It did so, causing the Galvantula to migrate towards the tree. "Now use Swift on the branches!"

Minccino's Swift caused large berries to fall. They hit the Galvantula and knocked them out.

"Now's our chance! Let's go!" Cilan said.

We ran down the road, but only just a few seconds later, more Galvantula appeared and surrounded us. They began to spark with electricity. I shot out my hand and used Protect to create a dome around us. The Galvantulas used Thunderbolt, which bounced off the Protect. My Protect faded and the Galvantula used Thunderbolt again, this time hitting us. When the attack stopped, two Galvantulas used String Shot and grabbed Pikachu and Minccino. They turned around and scurried away.

"Hey, get back here!" Ash cried. "Pikachu!"

As we ran after them, they shot webs of String Shot as obstacles. Iris called out Excadrill and had him break the string with Metal Claw. Ash and Bianca ran ahead of us and suddenly vanished. I ran forward and came to realize there was a cliff.

"Whoa!" I lurched forward. Iris and Cilan grabbed my arms and pulled me back before I could fall.

"Ash! Bianca!" Cilan called.

"What do we do?!" Iris said.

"Let's find another way to get down there." I said.

We found a slope to travel down to where we believed Ash and Bianca landed.

"You know, I'm still confused by this..." Cilan said. "Why would the Galvantula and Joltik want Pikachu's electricity and the Pokémon Center's as well?"

Iris and I agreed in his puzzlement. We heard voices. We looked to see Professor Juniper walking along the grass.

"Professor Juniper!" Iris called.

She saw us and made her way over. "Oh, my! What are you three doing here? Where are Ash and Bianca?"

"We got separated from them." I said. "The Galvantula lurking in the forest took Pikachu and Minccino away."

"Oh no!"

"Do you by any chance know why the Galvantula and Joltik from around here are stealing electricity from anywhere except the Chargestone Cave?" Cilan asked.

"Actually..." Professor Juniper said. "We saw that there was an area in Chargestone Cave that was completely blocked off."

"Blocked off? could something be in there?" Iris said.

"That's what I'm going to find out."

"We'll come with you." I said.

"Really?" Professor Juniper said. We nodded. "All right, then. Let's go."

* * *

We arrived at Area 4, but there was a giant door in the way.

"What's this doing here?" Professor Juniper said.

"If we can get inside, we might be able to figure out who's behind this!" I said.

"But how will we get this door open?" Cilan said.

Professor Juniper, her assistant, and Cilan tried to pry open the door, but it wouldn't budge.

"Wait, guys!" Iris said. She approached the door and put her ear up to it. Her eyes widened. "Something's coming this way! Get away!"

We ran away from the door. It opened and a vehicle came out.

"What in the world is THAT?!" Professor Juniper said.

"Not what, but WHO." a voice said. A platform came up and revealed Jessie, James, and Meowth.

"Team Rocket?!" Iris, Cilan and I cried.

"So it was you!" Professor Juniper said. "You were the ones that chased away the Galvantula and Joltik!"

"Chased away?" Jessie scoffed. "All we did was politely ask them out on cave leave!"

"It makes mining electric stones easier!" James said.

"Mining?" Professor Juniper said.

"That's why the Pokémon drained the electricity from Pikachu and the Pokémon Center!" Iris said.

"You won't get away with this!" Cilan said. Cilan called out Dwebble and I sent out Zorua. "Dwebble, use X-Scissor!"

"Zorua, use Night Daze!"

Dwebble jumped into the air and brought its pincers together into an X before coming down. Zorua's eyes glowed and she pounded her front paws into the ground. A dark aura spread over the area. But the vehicle continued to move forward. Iris called out Excadrill and used Dig. It created a hole and the vehicle drove into it.

"Pesky little twerps!" Jessie said.

"Huh? Look!" Meowth cried.

There was a huge herd of Galvantula and Joltik.

"I've never seen so many Galvantula and Joltik!" Professor Juniper cried.

"Iris! Rylee! Cilan!" Ash and Bianca came running over to us.

"You're okay!" I said.

The Galvantula and Joltik used Thunderbolt on Team Rocket's vehicle. It began to float.

"That vehicle must be _loaded_ with electric stones!" Professor Juniper said.

The attack stopped and the vehicle fell to the ground. Team Rocket jumped out as it smashed into the ground. It landed on its side and the top opened, spilling the tons of electric stones hidden inside.

"Whoa, there's a ton of them!" Ash said.

"Team Rocket must have driven away the Joltik and Galvantula so they could steal them!" Cilan said.

"Those crooks!"

"We went through all of this hassle because of them?!" Bianca said. "UNFORGIVABLE!"

"Believe me, this isn't the only damage that has been cause because of Team Rocket's selfishness." I said. I clenched my fist and my eyes grew warm. "And what's worse is... no matter what happens, they're not going to stop!"

Jessie and James sent out their Woobat and Yamask. They attacked our Pokémon with Air Slash and Shadow Ball.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"Minccino, Swift!"

The attacks landed on Yamask. Woobat used Gust on Excadrill and Dwebble.

"Hold on, Excadrill!"

"You too, Dwebble!"

Dwebble fell back a bit, but it managed to trudge forward. Suddenly, it was overcome with bright blue light.

"Look at that!" Iris said.

"I know that glow!" Ash said.

"And that means, it's EVOLUTION TIME!" Cilan cried, pumping his fist in the air.

Dwebble evolved into Crustle.

"Evolving means nothing to us!" Jessie said. "Woobat, Air Slash!"

As the air attack hurtled towards Crustle, it formed a giant rock between its pincers. It chucked it at Woobat, crushing the Air Slash and slamming into it.

"That's Rock Wrecker!" Cilan said, his face glowing with delight. "To be able to use a move with such finesse and power is a dream come true!"

"Woobat, Air Slash once more!"

"Yamask, use Shadow Ball!"

"All right, Cilan, let's finished this together!" I said.

"Right!" Cilan said. "Crustle, use Rock Wrecker!"

"Zorua, Night Daze!"

Crustle launched another boulder at Woobat and Yamask. Zorua's Night Daze cause the rock to absorb the dark power. It zoomed at the enemy Pokémon, directly hitting them both. The rock continued and crashed into the vehicle, causing it to explode. A small crate of electric stones floated in the air and flew off, along with Team Rocket on their jetpacks.

"Hey, get back here!" I cried.

Cilan put a hand on my shoulder. "There's no need. What's important is that Team Rocket is gone and the Galvantula and Joltik can go back into the cave!"

"Right." I shrunk back. "Sorry. Guess I got a little carried away."

* * *

The Chargestone Cave was buzzing with Joltik and Galvantula. They chattered their thanks to us, only being understood by the ears of our Pokémon and myself.

"What a relief!" Iris said. "No more Joltik clinging to my PokéBalls!"

I laughed. Professor Juniper's assistant approached us.

"I've cleared the path back to camp!" he said.

"Okay!" Professor Juniper said. She turned to us. "Let's go!"

"Yeah!" we all cried.


	3. Ruining the Ruins

The Pokémon Evolution trade worked. Shelmet and Carrablast evolved into Accelgor and Escavalier. However, as we wrapped up, a man emerged from the cave and collapsed on the ground. We carried him to Professor Juniper's tent and gave him some food. It turns out that the man was Professor Juniper's dad, Professor Juniper (I know, confusing).

"So, this is your father, Professor?" Ash said.

"Yes, and he's also a researcher specializing in legendary Pokémon!" Professor Juniper the younger said.

"You mean like Zekrom?" Iris said, stealing a glance at me. "And Reshiram?"

"Yes! So, papa... what brings you here?"

"There was a new ruin recently discovered to have links to the Legend of the Hero!" the older Juniper said. "It also could be where the Hero made contact with Zekrom!"

"Awesome!" Ash said. "Please let us come with!"

"I would never..."

We reeled back in surprise. "We're sorry to offend you in any way!" Cilan said.

"...turn down such bright young adventurers!"

"Huh?" we all said.

"You see, my father has a habit of stopping in the middle of his sentences when he has important things to say..." Professor Juniper said. "Maybe it would be best to wait for him to finish."

"So can we go with you?" Iris said.

"Of course!" the older Juniper said.

"All right!" we all cheered.

* * *

We said our goodbyes and left the campsite. Professor Juniper Sr. led us through Chargestone Cave, through a forest, and up a rocky cliff. When the night fell, we set up camp and ate.

"Professor Juniper..." I said. "Would you mind explaining to us what the Legend of the Hero is?"

"No way!" Professor Juniper cried.

"Huh?"

"...would I ever refuse you!"

"Right..."

Juniper pulled out a journal. "There's a passage in section 18 of the Chapter of Darkness from Pokémon mythology. 'When the Hero turns darkness into light, and the Hero's heart becomes one with the Pokémon, Zekrom shall descend and lend the Hero its power!'"

"Wow, Zekrom?!" Ash said.

"If what you said about this ruin being true, we might actually be able to see Zekrom!" Iris said.

"Or, maybe we won't..." I said, nonchalantly sipping from a hot chocolate mug. "After all, it could just be a rumor."

"Rylee, don't you want to see Zekrom?" Cilan said. "You know... considering who your father is?"

"Let's just say that my father isn't a fan of Zekrom, and neither am I."

"Well, all in all, I want this to be an exciting adventure for you kids and for you to have lots of fun!" Juniper said.

* * *

The next morning, we arrived at the entrance of the ruins. When we entered, it looked like something from pyramids from Egypt.

"Now be careful." Juniper said. "There might be various traps laid out to catch unsuspecting intruders."

"Uh... aren't _we_ unsuspecting intruders?" I said.

"We'll just have to make sure we watch our step." Ash said.

We came up to a wall with a Venipede statue inserted in a slot. Professor Juniper found an encrypted message and began to decipher it.

"It says that turning the statue to the left..." he said.

"Like this?" Cilan turned the statue to the left.

"Is a bad idea!"

"What?!"

The wall came down and behind it was a gigantic boulder.

"Ah! RUN!" Juniper cried.

We turned around and ran as the boulder came tumbling after us. Cilan called out Pansage and it used Dig to create a hole. We jumped in after it and the rock rolled over us.

"Adventure Rule #1: Act AFTER everything I say!" Juniper said.

"_Now_ he tells us!" Iris said.

"I know you have your whole 'wait to finish your sentence' thing," I said. "but can you _please_ save that for after we're out of here and no traps can almost kill us?"

"Come now!" Juniper said. "The ruin is waiting to be explored!"

"Did he even hear me?!" I mumbled.

* * *

We climbed out of the hole and continued down the path to two long, rickety, old bridges with a threatening black pit looming underneath.

"I bet you that one of these is a trap!" Cilan said.

"Professor Juniper, do you know which bridge is the right one?" Ash said.

"Let's see here..." Juniper said. "Crossing the bridge on the left..."

"Is a trap, right?" Iris said.

"...Is wrong." Juniper said. Iris groaned. "Crossing the bridge on the right..."

"That must be the right one!" Cilan said.

"...Is also wrong!"

"WHAT?!"

There was a crash as the bridge collapsed. Iris and I ran to the edge and looked over. Ash and Cilan clung to the remains of the bridge still attached.

"Ash! Cilan!" I called. "Are you okay?!"

"We're just... hanging out down here!" Ash said. Cilan whimpered beside him. Iris and I grabbed the bridge remains and pulled the two boys up.

"Adventure Rule #2: Never assume!" Juniper said.

"That's good to know..." Ash said.

"It would've been better about 10 minutes ago!" I said.

"But wait. If both bridges are traps, how will we get to the other side?" Iris said.

"And who knows? That cave at the end could also be a trap!" Cilan said.

"Does this mean we're at a dead end?!" Ash said.

"Hmm... Maybe there's another way!" I said.

Axew called to us over by a path.

"Good job, Axew!" Iris said. "Let's go!"

* * *

The next area had three entrances: one looked like a Golett, the second one a Darumaka, and the third a Krokorok.

"Any ancient text to tell us which one is right?" Iris said.

"Not that I can see." Juniper said.

"If we can't tell which one is the right one, we'll have to go through all of them!" Cilan said.

We went through the Darumaka entrance first. As we walked, the path in front and behind us spontaneously combusted into flames. Cilan's Stunfisk helped us escape. The second entrance we went through, the Krokorok entrance, came to a dead end when suddenly the walls started to close in on us. Iris's Excadrill held the wall for us so we could get out.

"Now all that's left is the Golett cave." Ash said, trying to catch his breath.

"To tell you the truth, I knew that the Golett cave was the right one all along!" Juniper said.

"WHAT?!" we cried.

"Then why didn't you tell us?!" I said.

Juniper laughed. "I thought it would be better to keep my mouth shut so you could all get the full grasp of this exploration enjoyment!"

"I swear, if this research doesn't put an end to him, I will." I grumbled.

"Enjoyment was NOT the word I had in mind..." Iris said.

We passed through the Golett cave and entered a room filled with coffins.

"Think this could be a trap?" Ash said.

"Anything is possible in this cave..." I said.

We came to what seemed like a revolving door.

"If we all push hard enough, we could get it open." Juniper said.

"Why do I get the feeling that this is another trap?" Iris said.

"For once, your instinct may be correct." Cilan said.

"Come on, guys! It's all or nothing!" Ash said.

As we pushed, the door began to open. There was an extremely bright light. We went through the door to a large room. There was a long staircase that led down to a small area with large icicles surrounding the center. There was a large open hole in the ceiling. We were down to the area.

"Is this the area where the Hero contacted Zekrom?" Ash said.

"I believe it may!" Juniper said.

"WOW! That means that we're standing right where Zekrom once was!" Cilan said.

Pikachu called for us. In the center of the area was a gold orb the size of a basketball. I could see power pulsing inside it.

"What is that?" Ash reached out to touch it, but Juniper grabbed him and pulled him away.

"Don't touch that! That is the Golden Dark Stone!" he said. "It could very well be booby-trapped!"

"We've gone through plenty of that before..." I said.

"No, this could be far worse. Worst-case scenario, we don't make it back at all."

"AT ALL?!" Ash cried.

"Adventure Rule #3: Danger in moderation! This is as far as we will go."

"Oh, man!" Ash said. "I was really hoping to see Zekrom!"

"Me too!" Iris said.

"Come on, guys, listen to the man." I said. "Let's leave before we get into any more traps."

As we turned to leave, a Sigilyph appeared. It attacked us with Psybeam. Pikachu tried to attack, but Sigilyph caused it to fall asleep.

"Run!" Juniper cried.

We ran back to the room with the coffins, and we found that they were empty.

"Quick! Everyone hide in them!" Cilan said. We did so. The Sigilyph scanned the area, then left.

"It's gone." Juniper said.

"What a relief!" Cilan said, and we came out of the coffins. Pikachu woke up.

"Hey, guys..." I said. "Iris hasn't come out yet."

"Come on, Iris! Sigilyph's gone!" Ash said.

"You can come out now!" Cilan said.

The coffin slid open, but inside wasn't Iris. A Cofagrigus came out. We all screamed. Ash pulled out his Pokédex and scanned Cofagrigus.

"_People who approach Cofagrigus are swallowed and turned into mummies._" it read.

"TURNED INTO MUMMIES?!" Ash cried. "You let Iris go right now!"

Cofagrigus's eyes glowed and it entangled Ash and Pikachu with Telekinesis.

"Oh no! Ash!" I cried.

"It's up to you two." Juniper said.

Cilan and I looked at each other and nodded. We called out Pansage and Zorua.

"Use Dig!"

Pansage scrambled underneath the ground. It came back up underneath Cofagrigus and slammed into it. Cofagrigus launched Will-O-Wisp.

"Zorua, use Protect!"

Zorua stepped in front of Pansage and cast a green shield around the two. The Will-O-Wisp deflected off and faded away.

"Now, use Shadow Ball!"

"Pansage, use Solar Beam!"

A ball of pulsating darkness gather at the tip of Zorua's snout. Pansage raised his arms and a ball of yellow-green light formed in between his paws. They hurled their attacks at Cofagrigus and they both hit. Cofagrigus turned back into a regular coffin. Ash and Pikachu fell to the ground, free from Telekinesis. Iris and Axew fell to the ground, covered in bandages. We hurried over and unwrapped them.

"All right, I QUIT!" she cried. "We got to get out of here!"

Cilan pushed on the revolving door, but it wouldn't move. A different wall moved, revealing a passageway.

"A path! Let's go!" Juniper said.

We entered a room filled with more coffins. All of them revealed themselves to be Cofagrigus. We continued running, only to be stopped by the Sigilyph. It chased us with Psybeam.

"Why won't the Pokémon realize that we didn't even lay a hand on the Golden Dark Stone?!" Cilan said.

"Because we did!" Professor Juniper pulled the Golden Dark Stone and held it up.

"Professor Juniper! _What were you thinking?!_"

"You told us not to touch it, REMEMBER?" Iris said.

"For a researcher like me, the things you're not supposed to touch are the most irresistible!" Juniper said. He let out a hearty laugh.

"THAT DOES IT!" I cried. I lunged and tackled Professor Juniper to the ground. I snatched the Golden Dark Stone from him and stood up. "Here, Sigilyph! Take the Golden Dark Stone back!"

Sigilyph attacked with Psybeam again. I fell back to the ground. The Dark Stone tumbled out of my hands.

"I don't think things will be better until we return the Dark Stone to its proper place!" Juniper said.

The Cofagrigus entered and used Telekinesis on us. They lifted us into the air and over to a wall. It opened and we tumbled down to a stream of water.

"Where are we?" Iris said.

"I believe we are in the place where intruders are held." Juniper said.

"Does that mean we'll NEVER get out?!" Cilan said.

"Nonsense!" Juniper said. He pulled out the Dark Stone. "In fact, I deliberately stole the Dark Stone so we would end up here!"

"Really?" Ash said. "You're so awesome, Professor Juniper!"

"_Awesome?!_ Give me that!" I cried, snatching the Dark Stone away again. "This isn't exciting! Do you know how many times you've almost gotten us killed?! You're not a researcher! You're INSANE!"

"Now, now..." Juniper said. "According to the legend, the Hero encountered Zekrom deep below the surface of the world! Follow me!"

As we walked, the Golden Dark Stone began to glow in my hands. A mural appeared on the ceiling.

"Quoting from section 4 from the chapter of Darkness from Pokémon mythology, 'Defeated and overcome with despair, the injured Hero waited deep beneath the surface of the world, resigned to his fate, when the legendary Pokémon Zekrom appeared and helped the hero escape the darkness'!" Juniper said.

"Then that means we shouldn't give up! We'll escape too!" Ash said.

"But how, Ash?" Cilan said. "I don't see any possible way in which we could escape!" Cilan said.

"Adventure Rule #4: Don't give up until the very end!" Juniper said. "There has to be a way out, so let's split up and look."

"_Do you really believe in this legend Professor Juniper is talking about?_" Zorua said once we were out of the others' hearing range.

"Maybe... I don't know." I said. "I just hope that is this Golden Dark Stone really is Zekrom, he'll help us find a way out of here."

"Hey, Rylee!" Iris called. "Professor Juniper found something!"

I hurried back over to everyone. Juniper examined another ancient message. He got the wall wall to open and we stepped back into the main room where we found the Golden Dark Stone. We went down and I set the Stone back in its pedestal. A Cofagrigus and Sigilyph appeared.

"Oh no, they're back!" Iris said.

I took a step forward. "Look, we're really sorry!" I said. "We didn't mean to take the Dark Stone! Just let us leave now!"

"_Very well..._" Cofagrigus said.

Its eyes glowed green and trapped us in its Telekinesis. We flew up through the hole at the top of the ceiling and high up into the air. Suddenly, the Telekinesis wore off and we began to fall to the ground.

"Adventure Rule #5: the answer to escaping mortal danger lies within the legend's core!" Juniper said.

"Right!" Cilan said. "Zekrom came and lent the hero its power after his heart because one with the Pokémon!"

"That means WE need to have our hearts become one with our Pokémon!" Iris cried, clutching Axew tightly to her chest.

_Our Pokémon... _I looked to Zorua. I reached up and touched Articuno's PokéBall. _And maybe not just the ones I own and travel with. Maybe my dad had a good reason to shut me out. Instead of forcing him to tell me things, I should come to know him more. And mend our hearts together._

We stopped falling. I felt the effect of Telekinesis wash over my body again. We were carried back into the ruins. Sigilyph and Cofagrigus stood before us, but their desire to attack us disappeared.

"They... saved us." Cilan said.

"That would indicated that our hearts successfully became one with the Pokémon." Juniper said. "I have come to believe that this really is the place where the legend was. While we were exploring, I sketched the map of the ruins, and it actually looks like an outline of Zekrom!"

"Wow, I guess anything IS possible..." Iris said.

"Adventure Rule #6: Making strong and unbelievable assumptions may lead to new discoveries!" Juniper threw back his head and laughed.

* * *

We made it out of the ruin with no traps triggered or Pokémon attacks.

"Be honest." Juniper said. "Was this adventure as much fun for you as it was for me?"

"Well, I might have to fib a little..." Iris said.

"It was totally awesome!" Ash said.

"I have to admit, despite the traps, Pokémon attacks, and nearly falling out of the sky, this really was kind of fun." I said. "I'm sorry about what I said to you earlier, Professor Juniper. You're not insane... maybe a bit crazy, but not insane."

"All is forgiven, my dear!" Juniper said. "but now that the exploration is done, I think I'm going to stay behind and continue my research. I look forward to seeing you all again!"

"I hope so too!" Ash said.

"And maybe you can take us to another ruin the next time!" Cilan said.

"I'm looking forward to that! Take care!" Juniper said.

"Goodbye, Professor Juniper!" we all waved as he walked down the path and out of sight. We walked in the opposite direction.

"I hope that one day I can actually meet Zekrom in person!" Ash said.

"One step at a time, Ash." I said. "Although it would be nice to meet the legendary Pokémon, there's so many other things for us to discover on this journey!"

"Yeah..." Ash said. "Hey, do you think I'll be able to meet Reshiram? 'Cause that'd be SO cool!"

"Geez, Louise..." Iris said, causing a laugh from Cilan.


	4. A Different Way to Battle

Continuing on our way to Mistralton City, a few things happened. Ash caught a Krokorok that's been Pikachu's rival since the beginning of his journey. We also wondered into Bouffalant territory, and the only way to prevent them from attacking us was to wear giant, multicolored, curly wigs. Finally, we made it to Mistralton City.

"I'm so excited to get my sixth gym badge!" Ash said. "Let's get to the gym right away!"

* * *

We arrived at the gym, however below the gym sign was another that read "Mistralton Cargo Service".

"THIS is the Mistralton City Gym?" Cilan said.

"Aw, who cares?!" Ash said. "It's time for my gym battle!"

Ash ran to the door, but a boy stopped him.

"Are you a challenger?" he said. "If so, you need to wait there."

The boy pointed to a big line of kids within rope lines curving around up to the gym.

"You mean that line?" Ash said.

"I'm afraid so." the boy said. "The morning group's all filled, so you're looking at the afternoon group." He walked away.

"That's weird." Iris said. "This IS the city's gym, right?"

"Something's a bit different on this gym's menu." Cilan said.

"...What's a morning group?" Ash said.

"Do you have an appointment?" a worker asked.

"Appointment?"

"Mistralton City gym battles must be booked in advance." the man looked at a clipboard. "There's a small opening in the afternoon. Do you want me to write you in?"

"Uh... sure..." Ash said.

The worker scanned Ash's Pokédex and gave him his appointment card. Just then, an airplane came cruising down the runway, stopping in front of us. A girl jumped out from the plane and removed her helmet, showing off her maroon-red hair and blue eyes. She looked at the crowd and placed the helmet against her hip.

"Hi!" she said. "My name is Skyla, and I'm the Mistralton City Gym leader!"

"Whoa, so that's the gym leader!" Ash said.

Skyla approached the group of challengers within the red rope.

"You guys are the morning group, right?" she said. "Let's see, so there are 15 of you..."

"Huh? How will she be able to handle 15 of them?" Ash said.

"First, you'll be using three Pokémon!" Skyla brought out her Pokémon: Swoobat, Unfezant, and Swanna. A boy came up to Skyla and presented his Pokémon: Zebstrika, Boldore, and Emolga.

"They show all of their Pokémon before they battle?" I said. "I've never seen that before."

"Now, my morning challengers! It's time for takeoff!" Skyla said. "Let the Air Battle begin!"

"Air Battle?" Ash said. "I've never heard of it."

"Neither have I." Cilan said. "That's a new one on me..."

Skyla closed her eyes. A minute later, she opened them. "You show great strength. You win!"

We all cried out. "That's it?!" Iris said.

"Talk about unusual." Cilan said.

Skyla walked over to the challenger and gave him a badge. He thanked her and ran off.

"All right, who's next?" Skyla said. A girl approached Skyla.

As the boy ran by, Ash stopped him. "Hold on just a minute." he said. "THAT was a real gym battle?"

"What? You don't know about Air Battles?" the boy said.

"No..."

"Time to take off for our second flight!" Skyla cried. The next challenger had a Leavanny, Sewaddle, and Pansear. Skyla closed her eyes and opened them a few moments later. "I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I win this battle! You don't stand a change with those Bug- and Grass-type Pokémon! And that means there's no badge!"

"But you didn't even have a battle!" Ash protested.

"Oh, yes they did! They battled in Skyla's mind!" The boy said. Challenger after challenger, it only took a minute or less until Skyla either decreed that she won or lost. "Skyla is so strong that with just one look at a challenger's Pokémon, she can imagine the battle in her head!"

"She imagines them?" Ash said.

"That's ludicrous!" I said.

"I get it." Iris said. "That's how she can handle 15 challengers!"

Cilan looked ahead with an angry look in his eye.

"All right! Time for our last morning challenger!" Skyla said. The final challenger had a Munna, Foongus, and Cottonee.

"But it's not a gym battle..." Ash mumbled.

I heard Cilan growl beside me. I could feel the waves of anger radiating from him. Skyla closed her eyes. A few moments later, she opened them.

"And that's that!" she said. "I win!"

"Oh, of all the..." Cilan said. His eyebrow twitched. "STOP THIS!"

Cilan and Ash marched over to Skyla.

"Guys!" Iris said.

"Wow, I'm used to Ash getting ticked off, but coming from Cilan's a bit unusual." I said.

Skyla approached some workers and grabbed her helmet. "I think I can squeeze in a quick flight before the afternoon group!" she said.

"SKYLA!" Skyla turned to see Ash and Cilan stalking over to her.

"What's wrong?" Skyla said.

"Come on!" Ash said. "You call those gym battles?!"

"I _demand_ that you give us an explanation! IN FULL!"

"Easy now, you're scheduled for the afternoon, right?" Skyla said. "We'll talk then! But now I gotta run! You have _no_ idea how busy I am!"

Skyla climbed into her plane and slid her helmet on. The engine started and her plane took off down the runway and into the sky.

"But wait a minute!" Cilan said.

"Skyla!" Ash cried, stomping his foot against the ground.

Iris and I walked over to Ash and Cilan as we watched Skyla's airplane loop around in the sky.

"There she goes..." Iris said.

"I don't want a battle like that..." Ash said.

"I won't _tolerate _a battle like that!" Cilan said. We all looked to him, who fumed as dangerously as a volcano. "This has got to stop! _NOW!_"

"Cilan!" I said. "You need to calm down!"

"You don't sound too happy." an old man with gray hair collected in a low ponytail wearing a Hawaiian shirt approached us.

"Who are you?" Ash said.

"I happen to be Skyla's grandfather." the old man said. "My name is Miles."

* * *

Miles took us inside the gym, where we sat in a room with many model planes dangling on strings.

"I used to be the Mistralton City Gym leader, then after I retired, I started my lifelong dream of starting a cargo business." Miles said.

"Well, I want to know what _you_ think about your granddaughter's battling styles!" Ash said.

Miles sighed. "Skyla was once well known for taking her gym battles very seriously. Her challenges became so well known, trainers from all over the Unova region flocked here. She became busier and busier and the time for her to pursue her love of flying grew shorter." Miles said. "So that's when she came up with these Air Battles. It allowed her to dramatically shorten the time she consumes with gym battles and put that towards flying."

Cilan slammed his hands on the table and stood up, leaning into Miles's face.

"That's still no excuse!" he cried.

"That's exactly what I told her..." Miles said. He sighed again. "And that's just the way it is. Perhaps you would be better off going to another gym."

"No way! I want to challenge this gym!" Ash said. "Especially if Skyla is as great as you say she is!"

"Well put, Ash!" Cilan growled. "I'm a gym leader too, and I will _NOT_ tolerate this level of gym battling!"

"Cilan!" I said. I could see the wildfire blazing in his eyes. I reached out and put a hand on his arm.

Familiar images flushed into my mind. I saw myself back at the Driftveil City Pokémon Center being kissed by Chili.

I pulled my hand away, feeling breathless.

_This anger he's feeling... It's not just from Skyla._

* * *

We walked outside and waited. Finally, Skyla's plane came and landed on the runway. She jumped from the plane and took off her helmet.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Skyla said. "Are you ready to begin our flight?"

The afternoon group of challengers cheered. Cilan walked past them and over to Skyla.

"I remember you from this morning." Skyla said.

"I apologize for my rude outburst." Cilan said, offering his hand. "My name's Cilan, and I'm a gym leader of the Striaton City gym."

"WOW!" Skyla shook Cilan's hand excitedly. "This is the first time I've met a leader from a different gym!"

"The pleasure's mine." Cilan said. "By the way, would you do me the honor of having a Pokémon battle with me?"

Skyla reeled back. "A battle between two gym leaders... Well, you did travel all the way from the Striaton Gym! You're on!"

Skyla and Cilan called out their Pokémon: Skyla's being Swoobat, Unfezant and Swanna, and Cilan's being Pansage, Stunfisk, and Crustle. Skyla looked at Cilan's Pokémon and smiled.

"There! I win again!" she said.

"No way!" Iris said.

"Come on!" Ash said.

"How can you be so sure?" Cilan said. "If you don't actually battle, how will you know?"

"I'm too strong!" Skyla said. "Why waste my time on a battle in real time when I already know who will win?"

"Skyla, please, you did accept my challenge. The least you could do is battle the way I would prefer."

"Alright... If that's the way you want it, fine. But promise you won't be sad when you lose."

"Yes, I promise, but like fine cuisine, you never know the way the battle will be like without tasting it first!"


	5. Reconciliation

We went to the battlefield. Iris, Ash, and I stood on one side of the field while Skyla's challengers and fans stood on the other. Miles refereed.

"Do you think Cilan can beat Skyla?" Iris said.

"Maybe, but the way Miles described how strong she is..." Ash said.

"Guys, come on." I said. "You've got to have faith in Cilan. Whether he wins or loses, we don't know. You just have to trust that he knows what he's doing."

"And... BEGIN!" Miles said.

Cilan brought out Pansage and Skyla brought out Swoobat.

"Pansage, Bullet Seed!" Pansage took a deep breath and shot seeds at Swoobat.

"Dodge it and use Air Cutter!" Swoobat dodged and attacked. It hit, and Pansage spun around repeatedly.

"Stay strong! Use Bite!" Pansage leaped into the air at Swoobat, but Swoobat dodged again.

"What a shame!" Skyla giggled. "It's useless if you don't hit your target! Now, Swoobat, wrap this up with Gust!"

Swoobat flapped its wings and overwhelmed Pansage in its strong wind. It hit the ground, unconscious.

"Pansage is unable to battle!" Miles said. "Swoobat is the winner!"

"Skyla did it, just like the Air Battle." Iris said quietly.

Cilan returned Pansage to its PokéBall.

"Just like I thought!" Skyla said. "That's how it goes!"

"It is true that you are skilled in Pokémon battles. But this battle isn't over yet!" Cilan brought out Crustle. "Rock Wrecker!"

A large boulder formed between Crustle's pincers and he chucked it at Swoobat. It hit directly and it fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Swoobat is unable to battle! Crustle is the winner!" Miles said.

"I guess I should've expected that with a Rock-type move..." Skyla said, returning Swoobat to its PokéBall.

"So, have your predictions changed a bit?" Cilan said.

"No way! I'm still on course, and I'm still gonna win!" Skyla brought out Unfezant.

"Use Rock Wrecker!" Again, the attack hit.

"Use Air Slash, now!"

"Block it!"

Unfezant attacked, but Crustle retreated to its large rock. The Air Slashes bounced off the rock.

"All right, it's now EVALUATION TIME!" Cilan said.

"Which means it's also Boring Lecture Time." Iris grumbled.

"Now, Skyla, although a gym leader, you've done poorly at showing the best Flying-types have to offer!"

"HUH?!" Skyla said, placing her hands on her hips. "Where did this sudden arrogance come from?"

"There's obviously a strong and powerful connection between you and your Pokémon." Cilan continued. "However, in the moves you're choosing, there's weakness!"

"Weakness?"

"There's more to gym battles than simply calling moves! A gym leader's task is to measure your challenger's skills and the connection with their Pokémon as well! But it seems like you and your Pokémon have no concept of that at all!"

"Doesn't all this talking bore you?" Skyla rolled her eyes.

"Never! You see, if a challenger succeeds and I reward them with a badge, I take pride in that!" Cilan said. "A gym badge should be a symbol of high honor for a challenger and Pokémon team!"

"But isn't a badge just a badge?"

"That kind of thinking cheapens its value!" A determined glint sparkled in Cilan's eyes. "Now let the battle continue! Crustle, Shell Smash!"

Crustle leaped out from its rock protection and its shell broke away.

"X-Scissor!" Crustle zoomed towards Unfezant and landed its attack. Unfezant fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Unfezant's unable to battle!" Miles said. "Crustle's the winner!"

"I can now see why you're a gym leader, with a combo like that." Skyla said. She returned Unfezant to its PokéBall and called out Swanna.

"Rock Wrecker!" The rock came hurtling at Swanna, but it dodged at the last second.

"Use Bubblebeam!" Crustle retreated to its shell, but the attack sent it sliding back a bit. "Great job! Now use Brave Bird!"

Swanna charged.

"Crustle, use Shell Smash!" Crustle leaped into the air. As Swanna rammed into its shell, it jumped out from it. "Now X-Scissor!"

"Ha! I knew you would try that combo again!" Skyla said. "Swanna, use Brave Bird!"

Swanna and Crustle both charged at each other with X-Scissor and Brave Bird. Dust and smoke rose in the air, and when it subsided, Swanna flew out and Crustle laid on the ground, unconscious.

"Crustle is unable to battle!" Miles said. "Swanna's the winner!"

Cilan returned Crustle to its PokéBall.

"Your Crustle's not half-bad! But still, a loss is a loss." Skyla said. Cilan scoffed. "You still can know the outcome without trying! I say not trying gives the same results! That's why Air Battles are the way I roll."

Cilan clutched his PokéBall until his knuckles turned white. "I'm going to win this battle and prove that a gym leader has no right to make such a horrendous statement!" he growled under his breath. He sent out Stunfisk. "Stunfisk, use Thundershock!"

"I've never seen Cilan this angry before." I said.

"It comes out when it's something he's really passionate towards." Iris said.

"But still... it kind of terrifies me."

"Don't worry. Once the battle's over, Cilan will go back to normal."

_If only you knew..._

Stunfisk's attack hit, but even with the type advantage, Swanna shook off the attack.

"Oh, come on, please don't disappoint me!" Skyla said. "If you want to defeat me and my Flying-type Pokémon, you'll have to know a more powerful move like Thunderbolt at least!"

"Hm... she's strong." Cilan said.

"Use Hurricane!" Stunfisk was carried up into the air. "Think you can use Electric-type moves now?"

"Don't underestimate my Stunfisk!" Cilan said. "Use Scald!"

As Stunfisk spun around, it used Scald, creating a dome of boiling hot water. Swanna screamed as the water showered it. It glowed red from burns.

"Swanna, no!" Skyla cried. Her eyes began to shake as she stared at Swanna. I noticed Swanna give her a look. Skyla understood, and she smiled and giggled.

"Now what?" Ash said.

"Just watch!" Skyla said. "Use Aqua Ring!"

Rings of water surrounded Swanna. The water dispersed and Swanna cured itself of its burns.

"Mud Bomb, go!" Stunfisk shot multiple Mud Bombs, but Swanna dodged them gracefully.

"You won't smudge Swanna's beautiful feathers!" Skyla said. "Use Brave Bird!"

Swanna charged and rammed into Stunfisk. It laid on the ground, unconscious.

"Stunfisk is unable to battle!" Miles said. His voice teemed with disappointment. "Which means that Skyla... is the victor..."

"Haha!" Skyla said. "You see, I knew I'd win right from the start!"

Cilan cried out and fell to his knees.

"Whoa, poor Cilan..." Ash said.

"What happened to him out there?" Iris said.

Ash looked over to Skyla and scowled. He walked over to her while I approached Cilan.

"Cilan?" I said. "It's all right. We know you did your best out there."

I reached out to put a hand on his shoulder, but Cilan sprung up to his feet, flailing his arms to push me away. I gasped and stepped back. With his fists clenched, Cilan turned and walked away. Tears stung my eyes as I watched him disappear into the warehouse. I moved my eyes to the ground.

"_Rylee?_"Zorua said, nudging my ankle with her cheek.

* * *

"Look, Skyla! To tell you the truth, I think your Air Battles are boring!" Ash said. "I challenge you to a battle. A real gym battle!"

Skyla sighed, placing her hands on her hips. "Now, you listen here..."

"Skyla." Miles stepped up to Skyla. "I want you to battle Ash too."

"But I just proved that Air Battles are fair and square!" Skyla said. "It'll always be the same-"

"It'll never be the same!" Ash said. "Look, when Pokémon and trainers have to battle, they should do it for real! Using Air Battles to decide who wins? That's the most boring and stupidest idea I've ever heard!"

"Well, the truth is, it's a waste of time!" Skyla said. "You wouldn't stand a chance battling me!"

"Well you can't say that without GIVING me that chance! As far as I'm concerned, you are a lousy excuse of a gym leader!"

Skyla scoffed as she glared down at Ash. "Fine then. Show me your Pokémon!" Ash sent out Tranquill, Krokorok, and Pikachu. Skyla looked over the three of them. "Impressive. They all have very good balance. Still, I have no doubt that I'd defeat you in a battle hands down!"

"No!" Ash said. "It's the other way around!"

"We'll see..." Skyla said.

The battlefield filled with the pleas of Skyla's challengers, begging her to battle Ash.

"Hear that, Skyla?" Miles said. "You don't want to deny the pleads of your fans, now do you? Besides, I would also like to see you battle Ash!"

"Hm..." Skyla said. "Fine then! I accept your challenge!"

"Really? Awesome!" Ash said.

"Thanks, but I'm still going to win." Skyla sneered. "The battle will take place here at the Mistralton gym tomorrow at noon! I'll be waiting!"

Skyla turned around and left with a snicker.

Ash scowled. "I'm gonna win."

* * *

~THIRD PERSON POV~

Ash, Iris, and Cilan sat in their room at the Pokémon Center.

"Ash, you've been like that for ever!" Iris said to Ash, who sat upside-down on his head on his bed. His eyes were closed tightly and he mumbled to himself.

"I've got it!" Ash cried eventually. He somersaulted and landed on his feet.

"Got what?"

"My strategy for tomorrow!"

"Are you saying you showed Skyla the Pokémon you were going to use tomorrow without a plan?!" Cilan said.

"Yeah, but don't worry about it, 'cause now I've got a plan! I'm going to beat Skyla tomorrow without a doubt!" Ash said.

Iris looked around the room. "Hey, have any of you seen Rylee?" she said.

"Now that I think about it, no." Ash said. "Do you know where she is, Zorua?"

Zorua shook her head. "_Even when I did see her, she didn't talk to me._" she said. "_Right Cilan's battle with Skyla, she came in before you guys and she told me to stay here. Then she left, and I haven't seen her since._"

Cilan's face fell and he looked at the ground.

"What's wrong, Cilan?" Ash said.

"I think I know why she's upset." Cilan said. He stood up and walked to the door. "I'm going to look for her."

"_Can I come with you?_" Zorua said.

"No." Cilan opened the door. "Please. I need to do this by myself."

Cilan closed the door behind him. Iris and Ash side-glanced at each other.

* * *

~RYLEE~

I stood on the roof of the Pokémon Center. Yes, the roof; a perk of being half-Pokémon and having a giant flying bluebird as your best friend. I gazed up at the sky until I went cross-eyed and the stars and the moon twinkling above me morphed into one big light. A small breeze picked up and I tugged at my gray pajama shorts, hoping they would suddenly stretch into pants.

"Rylee?" a whisper carried through the wind into my ears. I peeked over the edge to see Cilan on the ground, looking up at me. I called out Articuno and sent her down. Cilan hesitantly climbed up on her back, and she flew him up to the roof.

"Thank you." Cilan said to Articuno. I returned her to her PokéBall. "I, um... brought you a blanket. You must be chilly."

A shiver ran down my spine, but it wasn't from the cold. His last word cut through the air like a dagger. I kept my back turned to him.

"We haven't seen you since after Ash challenged Skyla." Cilan said. "I think I know why you were upset..."

"And I know why _you_ were upset as well." I said.

"Huh?"

"Earlier today, you were absolutely furious at what Skyla was doing with her Air Battles. But the anger you felt, the anger that stirred inside of you, it wasn't just from Skyla. In fact, I bet very little of your rage was because of Skyla." I turned around and took a deep breath. I raised my gaze to meet Cilan's. "You were there. You saw what happened between me and Chili. You saw him kiss me."

Cilan stared at me, unable to speak.

"I didn't think you would be so upset by it. I was too. I had no idea he was going to do that. But when Zorua showed me your memories and when I touched you earlier today, there was one thing in common. The emotions that I felt as I witnessed that moment were yours: Hurt. Anger. Betrayal. I felt so guilty despite the fact that I was the victim." I paused to take a breath. "I care about you too much to see you get hurt, especially if I'm the cause. I'm sorry I hurt you, Cilan. I'm sorry that I'm a horrible friend and I'm sorry I did this to you."

I turned around, wiping my eyes. "I'm sorry."

I cradled Articuno in my hands as I returned my eyes back up to the sky. It was so quiet, I thought Cilan left. But then I felt something warm drape around my shoulders. I looked to see a blanket on my shoulders with his hands resting on them as well. He turned me around, keeping his hands on my shoulders.

"If anyone is to blame for being a horrible person, it's me." Cilan said. "I'm sorry for making you feel guilty. It's just that when I saw... it happen, I assumed you preferred Chili over me."

I looked at the ground and chuckled. I adjusted the blanket.

"What's so funny?"

"Where did this sudden arrogance come from?" I said.

The smile on Cilan's face returned and we both giggled quietly. The moon pulsed its rays down on the earth and reflected in his grass-green eyes. I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around Cilan.

_You'll always be my number one preference._

I didn't know if he heard me, but I could feel his arms around me squeeze me tighter. The warmth in my cheeks flared.


	6. Operation Restoration

The next morning, Ash had his gym battle. He defeated Skyla and his Tranquill evolved into Unfezant in the process. Ash received his 6th gym badge. The next gym nearest to us was in Icirrus City, so we set off. On the pathway to Icirrus City, we stumbled upon a large mountain named Twist Mountain. We wandered through the paths of the inside.

"I feel like we've already gone this way before." Ash said.

"Now I know why it's call Twist Mountain." I said.

"You don't think we're lost, do you?" Iris said.

"Why don't we try and retrace our steps?" Cilan said.

"Wait!" Iris said.

"What?" Ash said, but Iris shushed him. We listened and heard a clicking noise echoing down the path and we saw a light at the end. We followed the light and noise and found a man wearing a construction helmet, chiseling away at the stony wall with a Drillbur at his side.

The man lifted his eyes at us. "Uh, excuse me, but who are you?" he said.

We introduced ourselves. Cilan noticed a strange rock on the ground and flipped out with excitement.

"Did you find this?!" he said. "This will be the discovery of the century!"

"You're getting pretty thrilled about a rock..." I said.

Cilan gasped and stared at me like I offended him with that statement.

"This isn't a rock! Look at the delicate designs of the shell-like object!" he said. "This is no other than a Pokémon Fossil!"

"You sure know your stuff." the man said, picking up the Fossil. "You're very lucky. You have just witnessed an earth-shattering breakthrough in all of Pokémon archaeology!"

"Pokémon archimano-what?" Ash said.

"It means the study of ancient Pokémon history through fossils and other materials." I said.

"Oh, sure, you know what Pokémon archaeology is, but you don't recognize a fossil when you see one." Iris said. I nudged her with my elbow.

"That is enough for today, Mr. Amateur Archaeologist!" a woman stood with her hands on her hips. She wore an orange jumpsuit and red worker helmet. She had blonde hair and green eyes. "I should've known you were up to something. My workers did report of someone smashing things up around here!"

"Look, Sierra!" the man said. "I told you I'd one day find a fossil and I did!"

"You know better, Ferris! This place is off-limits to outsiders!" Sierra said. Her eyes shifted to us. "Who are _those_ people? You have helpers now?"

"We're not helpers!" Iris said. "We just got lost and we ran into Ferris looking for help!"

"Whatever. You need to leave. I'll show you the way out."

"Hey, Ferris, can you tell us more about that fossil?" Ash said.

"Of course! Why don't you come over to my house?" Ferris said.

* * *

We went to Ferris's house, where he cleared away the extra rock around the Pokémon Fossil. The fossil looked like a turtle shell.

"I knew it! It's a Cover Fossil!" Ferris said. He pointed to a picture of a turtle Pokémon. "The shell belongs to a Tirtouga; a Pokémon that once lived in ancient times long ago!"

"Wow, I can't believe that Tirtouga once lived here in Twist Mountain!" Ash said. "I'm just so excited!"

"Anyone who gets excited about this is such a little kid." Iris said.

"Au contraire!" Cilan said. "Fossils are exciting! They are the missing links between ancient times and our world today! And for someone like me who loves solving puzzles, finding the Cover Fossil is the icing on the puzzle cake!" We all chuckled nervously.

"I'm glad that I kept searching and believing." Ferris said. He picked up a photo of him, Sierra, and two other kids when they were children.

"We always did enjoy exploring Twist Mountain." Sierra said. "But we always got yelled at for going places we weren't suppose to."

"That may be true, but thanks to our exploring, I got to meet a real live Tirtouga."

"What?!" we all cried.

"But Tirtouga are extinct. The proof is in that fossil." I said. "How is that possible?"

"Well, one day a long time ago, me, Sierra, and two of our friends were out exploring." Ferris said. "Everyone ran ahead of me and I wound up getting lost. As I was catching my breath, I saw a light peeking through some rocks. When I removed the rocks, can you guess what I found?"

"What?! What did you find?!" Ash said, eagerly enraptured by this tale.

"I stumbled upon a whole new world! One with rumbling volcanoes, strange wildlife, and the most fascinating Pokémon that I ever laid my eyes on." Ferris said. "While I was looking at the view, I came across a Tirtouga that was being picked on by some Archen. However, when I tried to drive them away, they ended up attacking the _both_ of us!"

"Oh, no! What happened next?" Iris said, and I chuckled to myself.

"Well, all of a sudden, a flurry of Hydro Pumps came at us, driving the Archen away. When I looked up, I saw a bunch of Carracosta, the evolved form of Tirtouga! That's how I met Tirtouga."

"Wow, Carracosta?" Ash said. "That's so cool!"

"Indeed. Tirtouga and I spent so much time playing together, we lost track of time." Ferris continued. "I gave him my explorer necklace, and then I started hearing the voices of Sierra and my friends looking for me. I said goodbye to Tirtouga and I ran. I ran through a strange land that never seemed to end. I woke up to see my friends and some workers, telling me that they had been searching for me the whole time. One thing I know for certain is that was no dream. After that, I studied hard to become a Pokémon researcher, and I learned a lot. My best friend turned out to be Tirtouga, the Prototurtle Pokémon. They lived long ago, but now they're extinct."

"So that means that there are still some Tirtouga living around here!" Ash said.

"So, somehow Ferris wound up in a strange ancient world." Iris said. "That's how he met Tirtouga."

"I find your theory a bit hard to believe..." Cilan said.

"Me too." Sierra said. "It doesn't seem like reality to me."

"You've been saying the same thing forever. But, as you can see, I've now found the Fossil! That is an undeniable fact that Tirtouga really did live here long ago!" Ferris picked up the Cover Fossil and turned to us. "I believe that there's a place inside Twist Mountain where time flows differently, and when I was a kid, I somehow stumbled upon it by accident, and that's how I met Tirtouga!"

"Ferris, I would appreciate it if you didn't come to the mines anymore." Sierra said. "It just creates a lot of confusion for us while we're working and-"

Suddenly, a metal claw burst through the window, shattering it, and snatched the Cover Fossil from Ferris's hands. We all cried out in surprise.

"What's going on?!" Ferris said.

"I might have an idea." I growled and we all ran outside.

* * *

"Team Rocket!" Ash cried. "Give us back that Fossil!"

"Who's Team Rocket?" Ferris asked.

"They're a nasty group of people that steal Pokémon and use them for evil!" Cilan said.

"What are you clowns up to this time?!" I said.

"Whatever it is, I don't care!" Iris said. "Give us back the Fossil!"

"Sorry, not today." James said. "You see, confiscating the Cover Fossil is the key to succeeding our mission!"

"And it was easy, thanks to that lousy amateur of a scientist." Jessie said.

"Why you-!" Ash cried.

A team Rocket helicopter zoomed above us and hovered behind the three members.

"Smell ya later, fools!" Meowth cried.

"Stop!" I said.

Ash, Ferris, and I ran towards the helicopter. As the helicopter lifted up off the ground, we jumped into the air. I managed to grab onto the ledge as well as Ash, but Ferris slipped and fell to the ground.

"Ferris!" Sierra ran to his side and helped him up.

"Ash! Rylee!" Iris called.

The helicopter took off.

"We've got to go after that helicopter!" Sierra said.

"Right!" Iris and Cilan said.

Iris, Cilan, Ferris, and Sierra piled into a car and drove off after the helicopter.

* * *

"Give us back that Fossil!" Ash cried.

Jessie pressed a button on a control and an energy field appeared between us. Ash ran forward, but he ran into the shield and fell back.

"Ash, are you okay?" I said.

"Stand back, Rylee!" Ash said. He had Pikachu use Thunderbolt, but the shield absorbed it. "WHAT?!"

Jessie and James chuckled. Pikachu used Thunderbolt again with the same pointless results.

"You can use up all your electricity, but you still won't be able to get through our energy field." James said.

There was a rumbled, indicating the helicopter had landed.

"Everything's right on schedule!" Meowth said.

The door behind them opened, revealing the old man with white hair and a monocle over his left eye.

"YOU!" I cried.

"I see we have guests." the man said. "You caused us quite a bit of trouble the last time we met."

"So who are you?" Ash said.

"The brains behind Team Rocket." Jessie said. "The brilliant Dr. Zager."

Suddenly, my head felt like someone smashed a brick against it. I gasped and clutched the sides of my head as images flooded before my eyes.

* * *

_I saw my father speaking to someone who I realized to be Dr. Zager._

_"Her powers are developing." my father said. "She needs to grow up in a safer environment. I'm afraid I have to leave for now."_

_"Are you sure?" Dr. Zager said. "After first losing... you know who... do you think she can emotionally handle her father being absent from her life?"_

_"I don't know." my dad bowed his head. "But whatever the case, I need to protect my family."_

* * *

The images were painfully ripped out from my mind. I gasped and fell back into the wall.

"I see that just the sound of my name triggered a memory." Dr. Zager said.

"You... you knew my father." I said breathlessly.

"As a matter of fact, I did, many years ago." Dr. Zager said. "But even when he was gone, that fool couldn't stop your powers from awakening."

James handed Dr. Zager the Cover Fossil.

"What are you going to do with that fossil?" Ash cried.

A machine hummed and its lid slid open. Zager placed the fossil inside the machine and the lid closed.

"Undergo my Fossil Restoration Machine!" he said.

"Does that mean... you're going to restore Tirtouga?" Ash said.

"Bingo!" Jessie said.

"This technology uses electric stones from the Chargestone Cave and the same data used by Dr. Fennel to restore Archen from the Plume Fossil." James said.

"What possible reason could you have for restoring Tirtouga?!" I said.

"Fine, I'll explain... At the base of Twist Mountain, there is a very special phenomena: a space time warp, which creates a pathway to the past." Dr. Zager said.

"A pathway to the past?" I said. "Ferris must have stumbled upon the time warp when he was a kid! That's how he met Tirtouga!"

"However, my research has indicated that the "time gate" is enlarging, but soon it will shrink and close." Zager said.

"But we found out that by using the life force of a certain Pokémon, we can stabilize the time gate and preserve it!" Meowth said.

"So you're planning on taking a Pokémon from the past and using them to your evil bidding?!" I said.

"Correct! And then we'll rule the Unova region!" Meowth cackled.

"That's not gonna happen!" Ash said.

Pikachu used Thunderbolt a third time, but it still didn't work.

"Foolish twerps." Jessie smirked. "Now watch the magic of restoration!"

Dr. Zager activated the Pokémon Restoration Machine. The Cover Fossil glowed and energy crackled through it. Codes and data popped up on a screen.

"Behold!" Zager cried. "The restoration of the Prototurtle Pokémon: Tirtouga!"

There was a bright light. When it subsided, there in the machine was a real Tirtouga, asleep inside the container.

"They... actually did it..." I said. I noticed something poking out from underneath Tirtouga.

Tirtouga opened its eyes.

"_Huh?_" it said. "_Wha... what's going on?!_"

The lid of the machine opened and Tirtouga hopped to the ground. It tried to run, but Jessie and James called out Yamask and Woobat.

"No! Don't hurt it!" I cried.

"Team Rocket, you leave Tirtouga alone!" Ash said.

Yamask and Woobat approached Tirtouga. It trembled underneath its shell.

"NO!" I said. I ran towards the energy field.

"Rylee, no!" Ash said.

Ash I came in contact with the energy field, I expected the force to send me back. But instead, feeling like slow motion, my body fell forward, phasing through the energy field. It felt like I was running underneath a stream of water. Team Rocket gasped as I rolled forward. I stood up in front of Tirtouga with my hands stretched out to the side.

"I won't let you use Tirtouga!" I said.

"_Let's get 'em!_" Tirtouga said.

I glanced at it and nodded. I jumped beside it and we attacked with a double Ancient Power. Team Rocket dodged and the attack rammed into the restoration machine. It exploded. The energy field was destroyed and the sides of the helicopter blasted open.

* * *

~THIRD PERSON POV~

"Look!" Iris called as smoke rose up from the forest.

"That must be where the plane landed!" Cilan said.

"Let's go!" Sierra said, pounding her foot against the gas pedal. The car zoomed forward.

* * *

As the helicopter filled with smoke, Ash coughed and tried to hide his stinging eyes from the pollution. He and Pikachu tumbled out of the helicopter, but there was no sign of Tirtouga or Rylee.

"Tirtouga must not get away!" Dr. Zager said. "Find it and the girl!"

"Right!" the other three said.

"Ash!" Ash looked to see a yellow vehicle pull up. The window rolled down, revealing Sierra, Ferris, Iris, and Cilan's faces.

"There you are!" Iris said. "Where are Team Rocket and the Cover Fossil?"

"Rylee and I managed to get on board, where Team Rocket restored the Cover Fossil back into a Tirtouga!"

Ferris gasped. "It can't be!" he cried.

"It is!" Ash said. "After it was restored, Tirtouga and Rylee attacked Team Rocket. The machine that restored Tirtouga along with the helicopter were destroyed. Now, Tirtouga is gone, and so is Rylee!"

"Where did they go?" Iris said.

"Wherever they went, we need to find them!" Ferris said. "We can't let Team Rocket use Tirtouga for their evil plans!"


	7. Evolution of Ancient Proportions

I woke to the sound of running water. I sat up and saw Tirtouga staring at me.

"What happened?" I said. I recalled an explosion. I remember the double AncientPower destroying the Restoration machine Team Rocket built. My eyes felt sore from the smoke. I looked at Tirtouga. "You dragged me away from the helicopter, didn't you?"

Tirtouga nodded. I smiled.

"Thank you." I said. "I'm just happy you're safe."

I stroked Tirtouga's shell. It continued to stare at me.

"_Who were those people?_" Tirtouga said.

I scowled. "That was Team Rocket. They are an evil organization whose main goal is to steal Pokémon and use them for evil." I said. "The older man with the monocle built a machine and restored you back to life. They want to use your life force and try and invade your home so they can steal your friends."

"_What?!_" Tirtouga trembled in fear.

"Don't worry. I won't let that happen." I said. "I promise. I'll keep you safe and I'll help your return home."

"Rylee!" a voice called. I looked to see Ash and Ferris running over to us.

"I'm so glad that you're all right." Ferris said. Ferris tried to approach us, but Tirtouga growled. It jumped in the air and used AncientPower.

"Stop, Tirtouga!" I said. "They're my friends!"

But Tirtouga didn't listen. It attacked again with Brine. Ash and Ferris jumped away and the water crashed into nearby shrubbery. We heard a growl and a herd of angry Whirlipede came zooming at us. We screamed in fright. The Whirlipede locked their eyes on Tirtouga and headed towards it. Ferris ran in front of Tirtouga.

"Whirlipede! Stop!" he said. The Whirlipede rammed into him. He cried out and fell to the ground.

"Ferris!" I said. I turned to the Whirlipede. "Leave us alone! We didn't mean to disturb you!"

The Whirlipede roared and charged right at me. I screamed and shielded my face with my arms. However, when I opened my eyes, a shield of Protect warped in front of me and the Whirlipede mindlessly barreled into it.

"This isn't my Protect." I said quietly, returning my arms to my sides.

A car horn sounded and a yellow jeep burst from the trees, with Zorua and Crustle riding on the top. Zorua used her Protect to push the Whirlipede back. As they came barreling towards me again, the jeep pulled up beside me. A window rolled down, and Cilan poked his head out.

"Crustle, use Rock Wrecker!"

Crustle hurled a giant rock at the ground in front of the Whirlipede, creating a giant hole. The herd of Bug Pokémon crashed into the hole and fell unconscious.

"Come on, get in, guys!" Iris said, opening the car door.

Zorua hopped down from the roof and onto my shoulder. Cilan called Crustle back to its PokéBall. Ferris, Ash, and I hopped into the jeep with Tirtouga shaking in Ferris's arms.

"Thanks, guys." I said.

"Hang on!" Sierra said. She beat her foot against the gas pedal and we charged back into the forest. "It's hard to believe that Tirtouga was actually restored, but now that I'm looking right at it, it's hard not to."

"Team Rocket is planning on capturing ancient Pokémon by using Tirtouga." I said.

"How are they going to do that?" Iris said.

"By using the time gate." I said. "That's the space time warp beneath Twist Mountain. It's a portal that can actually take you back into the past."

"I must've been one to stumble upon it when I was a child." Ferris said.

"You mean, back when we used to explore the caves?" Sierra said.

"Yes." Ferris said. "Do you know anything else about the time gate, Rylee?"

"Team Rocket said that Tirtouga's life force can be used to stabilize the time gate." I said. "Team Rocket wants to do that in order to keep the time gate open so they can have access to the past."

"Of course!" Cilan said. "That way they can catch a myriad of ancient Pokémon and be able to travel back and forth through time!"

"Team Rocket..." I growled. My eyes grew hot. "They won't get away with this. Not on my watch."

Tirtouga whimpered.

"Don't worry, Tirtouga." Ferris said. "We'll protect you."

"I promised, and so do they." I said.

Tirtouga smiled.

* * *

We stopped to give Tirtouga something to eat. After it ate, we sat around as it napped.

"Tirtouga must be exhausted." Ash said.

"Waking up in a new world after sleeping for so long can really take a lot out of you." Cilan said. He noticed me staring at a spot in the ground. "Rylee, what's the matter?"

My hand made its way to cradle Articuno's PokéBall. "When Ash and I were on Team Rocket's helicopter, there was a man named Dr. Zager." I said.

"Oh, yeah!" Ash said. "He's the one who created the machine that restored Tirtouga!"

"Right. But there's more. Dr. Zager and my dad were friends years ago. I had a vision of a conversation between them. He said he needed to leave in order to protect my family." I glanced at Zorua. "It's obvious my father is hiding so much about my past from me, but when I tried to talk to him about it, he shut me out. Even a member of Team Rocket knows about me and my father! Who else could possibly know about my powers?"

"Who cares?" Ash said, and I looked at him in surprise. "Your powers are an awesome gift that you have!"

"And if anyone were to try and take advantage of that, we'll be there right by your side to help you!" Iris said.

"You'll always have us." Cilan said.

I smiled. "Thanks, guys."

"So! Uh... let's get going!" Ferris said. He stood up and picked up Tirtouga, who continued to snooze. "We should leave before Team Rocket finds us!"

We stood up, along with the hairs on the back of my neck. I cast my eyes to the sky and gasped to see Yamask flying towards us. It looked faded, so I assumed it was invisible to everyone else. It launched a flurry of shadow balls at Tirtouga and Ferris.

"Look out!" I cried. I lunged and tackled the two to the ground.

Yamask appeared completely and used Night Shade. Team rocket flew in on jet packs.

"Team Rocket!" Iris cried.

"You're not getting Tirtouga!" Ferris said, standing up.

"We'll see about that!" Jessie said. She called out Woobat, who used Gust. Dust and debris picked up in the air. Yamask sent another rain of Shadow Balls on us. I looked over at Tirtouga.

"Tirtouga!" I cried. I scrambled to my feet and ran over. Meowth shot a net at Tirtouga. I covered Tirtouga with my body as the net encased us.

"You... will not... take Tirtouga!" I cried. My eyes flared.

Tirtouga looked at me with awe. It let out a cry and a glowing blue light enveloped its body.

"Tirtouga... it's evolving!" Cilan cried.

I gasped as Tirtouga rapidly grew. The ropes of the net tensed and snapped and I hovered six feet in the air. The light dispersed and Tirtouga evolved into Carracosta, and I sat on its shoulder. It let out a roar.

"Tirtouga! You evolved!" I said. Carracosta looked at me and smiled. I hopped off its shoulder. "Alright, Carracosta, let's do this together."

Carracosta attacked with Hydro Pump and I attacked with Hyper Beam. Team Rocket dodged. Carracosta froze suddenly.

"What's wrong, Carracosta?" Ash said.

Carracosta turned and took off into the forest. We started after it, but Yamask used Haze and the area filled with black fog.

"The space time warp is expanding!" I heard Dr. Zager chuckle. "You must capture Carracosta at once!"

I heard Team Rocket fly away.

"Oh, no, they don't!" I cried. I called out Articuno and hopped on her back. We flew down the forest path.

* * *

~THIRD PERSON POV~

Team Rocket followed Carracosta back to Twist Mountain.

"It appears that Carracosta came back here." James said.

"There's a reason..." Jessie said, crossing her arms. "So why?"

"Aw, who cares?" Meowth said. "We got Carracosta right where we want 'em, so let's just snag it already!"

* * *

~RYLEE~

Arriving at the Twist Mountain entrance, a familiar yellow jeep stopped right in front of me, blocking the path. The door opened and my friends piled out.

"Guys, Carracosta will get hurt if I don't hurry!" I said.

"Rylee, stop." Ash said. "We can help Carracosta, together."

"Ash is right." Iris said. "I know that you've got your powers and all, but sometimes it's just as good to have your friends alongside you in your battles."

"We'll always be there for you, but you need to _let_ us be there for you." Cilan said.

I bowed my head in shame. "I'm sorry." I said. "But ever since I met my father and found out who I was, things have been taking a turn for the crazy. I don't mean to..."

The yellow jeep pulled away, opening the mountain pathway. Cilan reached out his hand to me. I gazed at my friends and smiled.

"You're right." I said. "We'll do this together."

I took Cilan's hand and we climbed onto Articuno's back. Ash called out Unfezant and Sierra and Ferris climbed on its back. They carried us into the cave.

"I bet that Carracosta went back to Twist Mountain to see its friends." Ferris said. "It must've heard them through the time gate. That must be why it took off!"

"Isn't that like what happened to you, Ferris?" Sierra said. "You heard us calling for you when you were in the past, correct?"

"Yes!"

Sierra guided Unfezant through the cave and we followed. The cry of Carracosta pierced into my mind. I grasped my head.

"Rylee, what's wrong?" Ash said.

"Carracosta's in danger! We're getting close." I said. "Team Rocket must've captured it and they've started using its life force to keep the time gate open!"

"Then we need to hurry!" Cilan said.

As we entered the room, we saw Team Rocket heading towards the time gate.

"Stop right there, Team Rocket!" Ash said. "There's no way we'll let you go in there and steal ancient Pokémon!"

"There's no way that we'll let you get in our way!" Jessie said.

Jessie and James called out Yamask and Woobat.

"Fine, if that's how you want it, we'll fight back!" Cilan said, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a PokéBall. "Iris, Rylee, you go and help Carracosta!"

"Right!" Iris and I said.

We went over to Carracosta. Iris had Axew break away the cuffs on its hands and ankles with Scratch. Carracosta stood up, but it was too weak to move. Ferris kept it steady, but it insisted on moving towards the time gate.

"Carracosta, we're friends, remember?" Ferris said.

Carracosta looked at Ferris for a few moments before smiling. Yamask and Woobat attacked Pansage and Pikachu, sending them back to the ground.

"Foolish twerps. Now make like a tree and leave!" Jessie said.

Ferris glared at Team Rocket. "How dare they invade your world... a world where ancient Pokémon live in peace and harmony." he said. "What you have done is unforgivable!"

Carracosta rose and bellowed a long and loud cry. When it finished, we heard three more roars answer back. We turned to the time gate to see three more Carracosta running towards us.

"Perfect!" James said. "That just makes it easier for us!"

James threw a box at the Carracosta and an energy field surrounded them.

"You're on a one-way ticket to Team Rocket!" Jessie said.

"No!" I cried. "We promised Carracosta that we would protect it, and we are keeping that promise!"

Woobat and Yamask attacked. Pansage and Pikachu attacked as well, canceling out the moves. Carracosta let out a cry and its friends responded.

"_Rylee, help me._" Carracosta said.

"Right." I said. "We'll do this together."

The four Carracosta and I used AncientPower on the energy field and destroyed it. Pikachu launched an Electro Ball at Team Rocket. It exploded, and when the smoke and dust subsided, Team Rocket was gone.

"At least the Carracosta are safe." Iris said.

* * *

We entered the time warp into the past. We gazed at the awesome view. We even saw some Archeops fly by. After a while, the time gate was starting to close, so we said goodbye to Carracosta and returned to the present. The time gate closed.

"The ancient world is safe." I said. "Team Rocket can't try and take advantage of it anymore."

"Hey, Rylee," Iris said. "do you think maybe you should try talking to your dad again?"

"Well... I don't know."

"It might take a while to fully open up to you about your past, but you should know that he'll always be there for you." Cilan said. "This is going to take some time."

I nodded. "Maybe I'll visit him soon." I said. "I can't wait to tell him I went back in time!"


	8. Igniting the Flames of Old

It was starting to get dark, so we stopped to stay the night at Don George's Battle Club in Abtilbe Town.

"I'm so tired, I could sleep for days!" Iris yawned.

"What we need is a good night's sleep, and then it's on to Icirrus City!" Ash said.

As we walked, we heard the sound of cheering. We followed the voices to a battlefield, where a double battle took place. One boy had a Watchog and Mienshao and the other boy had a Heatmor and Emboar. In the end, the latter boy, named Shamus, won, calling his Pokémon "The Fire Warriors".

"Wow, that Shamus guy sure is strong." Ash said when we left the field.

As we turned the corner, we saw Shamus talking with the trainer he battle against.

"You promised I could have whatever Pokémon I wanted." Shamus said.

"But Shamus..." the trainer said.

"You didn't think I'd battle you for free, did you? Now let me see your Pokémon!"

"Why, that little-!" Iris said. She marched over to Shamus and the rest of us followed. "Hey you! Just because he lost to you, doesn't mean that gives you the right to take one of his Pokémon!"

"You lay off!" Shamus said. "This is none of your business, so butt out!" Shamus walked away.

"Are you okay?" Iris asked the other trainer.

"Yeah, thanks." the boy said.

"Why would you want to have a battle with him in the first place?" I said.

"The truth is, I really didn't want to battle with Shamus. But he's always said that he wanted to get his hands on Pokémon with potential."

"What's that all about?!" Ash said. "That's not how battles are supposed to be."

* * *

At dinnertime, we seated ourselves at a table and ate our food. Our Pokémon chowed down on their food. I watched Tepig turn around and gaze at Shamus, who sat alone and across the room. He ran over to Shamus and yipped happily at it.

"What's Tepig doing?" Ash said. Ash attempted to call Tepig back over, but Tepig didn't listen and remained at Shamus's side.

"Tepig really seems to have taken a liking to Shamus." Cilan said.

Iris had an epiphany and gasped. "Ash, remember when Tepig was abandoned by its original trainer?" she said.

"It was?!" Cilan and I said.

Ash gasped. "That's right!" he said. He looked over at Tepig. "Could Shamus... be that guy?"

Iris slammed her hand against the table. "It's as clear as the hair on my head!"

We walked over to Shamus. "What do you clowns want this time?" he said.

"I think that my Tepig might be the same Pokémon that you abandoned back in Accumula Town." Ash said.

"Really?" Shamus looked at Tepig and chuckled. "Lucky for you. This dude gave you a break."

"You can't just through away a Pokémon like that!" Iris cried.

"I do what I want." Shamus said nonchalantly. "It just felt right at the time."

I scoffed and slammed my hands on the table. "How dare you say that!" I said. "Pokémon are not toys that you can just throw away when you get bored with them! It's lousy people like you that make me sick!"

Shamus smirked. "I don't have time to listen to you." he said. "Why don't you go and complain to your diary?"

I growled and raised my hand, ready to literally smack some sense into this boy. However, Cilan reached out and grabbed my wrist.

"Now let's just _relax_!" he said. "It's JUDGEMENT TIME!"

"Who's this yo-yo?" Shamus said.

"I'm no yo-yo!" Cilan said. "In fact, I happen to be a Judge Connoisseur!"

"Please, you've got this all wrong. I left Tepig for its own good. Forcing a weak Pokémon into battle is by far cruel."

"That's a lie!" Ash said.

"Look, once I finally discovered that this Pokémon was totally useless, I knew that it would be better set free."

"Then why was Tepig tied up when we found it?!" Iris said.

"The truth is, I did set Tepig free, but it still followed me anyway." Shamus said. "I already told you, I can't use a Pokémon who can't battle."

"You can't decide that, especially when a Pokémon is so young!" I said. "Not only are you a horrible trainer, your sense of judgment is totally inadequate!"

"I see your points." Cilan said. "So how do we decide who is clearly right?"

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

Don George stepped up to us. "Well, this is a Pokémon Battle Club." he said. "I saw that we settle this with a battle."

"Sounds good to me." Shamus said smugly. "We'll make is a Double Battle. That is, if you think your unevolved Tepig is a match for my Fire Warriors."

"You're on!" Ash said. "And when we win, you have to apologize to Tepig!"

"Ash, I want one of my Pokémon to battle with you." I said. "It's my job to stand up for Pokémon in this world, and I won't stand people like Shamus thinking they can use them like tools. I want to teach that jerk a lesson."

Ash smiled and nodded.

"Then it's decided!" Don George said. "Your Double Battle will take place first thing tomorrow morning!"

Ash and Shamus locked eyes. "I'll show you what a big mistake you made!" Ash said.

"Wrong." Shamus said. "I'll show you what a _huge_ mistake you've made."

* * *

_I wonder what Shamus did to Tepig. Ash said it was tied up when he found it. Maybe I can tap into Tepig's memories..._

I closed my eyes and images flowed into my mind.

* * *

_I saw Shamus pull out a PokéBall and call out Tepig._

_"You're unsuited for battle." he said. "Go. You're free now."_

_Shamus turned around and walked away, but Tepig ran after him._

_"Please stop. Come on." Shamus said. Tepig refused to listen, so Shamus tied Tepig to a post. "I can't take you with me. It just wouldn't work. Goodbye."_

_Shamus walked away. Tepig tried to run after him, but the rope tied around his neck prevented him from moving more than three feet. He called after Shamus, tears streaming down his face._

Wow, Shamus actually looks upset from letting Tepig go...

_Then, I saw him turn the corner with a smirk on his face._

_"That's a relief." he said, casually stretching his arms. "Who needs a little runt of a Pokémon anyways? It's time to find a Tepig with at least a little talent."_

* * *

The images vanished and I clenched my fists.

_Why, that little..._

"Hey, Rylee." Ash said. "What Pokémon are you gonna let me use for the battle tomorrow?"

"If we were to look at types, I'd say Zorua would be the best option." Cilan said.

"There is another Pokémon that Ash can use." I said, standing up. "Me."

"Huh?!" everyone said.

"I'm going to battle alongside Tepig against Heatmor and Emboar. As Celebi." I said.

"How will you do that? Shamus doesn't know about your powers." Iris said.

"That's where Zorua comes in. She'll be me. We'll just have to make sure no one will see her tail." I chuckled.

"That's... actually a good idea." Cilan said.

"I don't know..." Ash said.

"Ash, think about Tepig. What Shamus did was horrible and wrong, and he needs some serious sense slapped into him." I said. "Please. Do it for Tepig. Do it for all the other Pokémon Shamus abandoned."

Ash smiled and nodded. "Okay." he said.

* * *

~THIRD PERSON POV~

The next morning, Ash and Shamus stood on opposite ends of the battlefield with Iris and Cilan standing on the side.

"So where's Little Miss Sasstalk?" Shamus said. "Did she get scared and chicken out?"

"Of course not!" Ash said. "And her name is Rylee!"

The door opened and Rylee walked in. She quietly walked to Ash, handed him a PokéBall, and walked over to stand next to Iris and Cilan.

"Um... is this Rylee or Zorua?" Iris asked.

"Rylee" turned to Iris, revealing her chocolate brown eyes and little tail poking out from her tailbone. She grinned, revealing small canine teeth. Iris whimpered in surprise.

"I'll take that as Zorua." Cilan said. Zorua covered her mouth and giggled.

"Let the Double Battle commence!" Don George said. "Begin!"

"Alright, Rylee, let's do this." Ash said quietly to the PokéBall. "Tepig! Celebi! I choose you!"

Ash threw two PokéBall into the air and Tepig and Celebi came out.

"How was Rylee able to go into a PokéBall?" Iris said.

"_She is a Pokémon. I used a special PokéBall that dissolves after the Pokémon inside comes out." _Zorua said, speaking telepathically but moving her mouth as if she were speaking. "_But you don't even want to know the trouble it took to get her in there."_

"A Celebi? Wow, I'm impressed. But let's see if my impression continues after this." Shamus said. "It's showtime, Fire Warriors! Emboar! Heatmor!"

"Alright, let's go, Tepig and Rylee...'s Celebi!" Iris cried.

"_Nice save._" Zorua said.

"Let's start this off! Celebi, use AncientPower on Emboar!"

Celebi launched a ball of power at Emboar.

"Emboar, move!" Emboar, using its arm, took hold of the AncientPower and threw it behind it.

"Tepig, use Flamethrower on Heatmor!"

Tepig was about to attack, but then it gazed at Shamus and let out a depressed sigh.

"Emboar, use Hammer Arm!"

Emboar charged at Tepig and clotheslined him.

"Tepig, are you okay?!" Ash said.

"What's wrong with Tepig?" Iris said.

Ash crouched down to Tepig. "I understand. You can't forget about him, can you?" Tepig nodded.

"What a riot!" Shamus let out a laugh.

"What are you talking about?"

"Whenever I abandon a Pokémon, I always make it think I'm _so_ upset. If not, they'll always come running back." Shamus smirked. "All you have to do is have a Pokémon see a few tears to convince them that you really care, and they'll let you go."

Tepig cried out in shock and collapsed into a puddle of despair.

"Tepig!" Ash and Celebi rushed to his side and urged him to stand, but he refused. Ash glared at Shamus with clenched fists. "You call yourself a trainer?!"

Shamus chuckled. "Say what you want, but power is where it's really at." he said. "Of course I'm going to look for a Pokémon with _a little_ bit of skill."

Ash growled. "I've had it!"

_"Tepig, please get up!" _Celebi said.

_"Why? There's no point..."_ Tepig said.

_"Don't say that!"_

"Celebi, you'll have to cover for Tepig." Ash said. "Think you can handle it?"

Celebi nodded. _"As long as I get to pummel that jerk."_

"Alright then. Celebi, use Hyper Beam on Emboar!"

The attack hit, and Emboar staggered around the battlefield, confused.

"Heatmor, use Fury Swipes on Emboar!"

"Huh? Why would it attack its own teammate?" Ash said quietly.

Heatmor attacked Emboar and he snapped out of confusion. Celebi gulped.

"Now, Emboar, Flamethrower! Heatmor, Fire Spin!"

"Both of you, dodge!"

Celebi flew out of the way, but Tepig was too depressed to move. The attacks hit him and he went flying across the field.

_"Tepig, snap out of it!"_ Celebi said.

"Let's focus on Celebi." Shamus said. Celebi's eyes widened. "Heatmor, use Fury Swipes!"

Heatmor's claws extracted and it leaped towards Celebi. It swiped twice before she fell to the ground.

"Emboar, use Heat Crash!"

Emboar jumped in the air and surrounded itself with fire. It came barreling down and crashed into Celebi, ending with it sitting on her.

_"Get off me, you big campfire!"_ Celebi cried.

"Oh, no, Celebi!" Iris said.

"This battle might be wrapping itself up soon." Cilan said, resting his chin in his hand.

Emboar stood up and returned to Heatmor's side.

"Celebi, are you okay?" Ash said.

Celebi struggled to her feet. Her eyes flared as she shot a glare at Tepig. _"Tepig, you better get your act together, or so help me...!"_

Tepig gawked at Celebi in surprise. Finally, it scowled and nodded.

"Alright, Tepig! Use Flame Charge!"

Tepig stomped at the ground and created a dust cloud. It lunged at Heatmor and Emboar, covered in a veil of fire, and smashed into them.

"Ha! See, I told you that you were wrong about Tepig!" Ash said.

"I'll admit, you did well with raising it, but that ain't enough to make it to the top." Shamus said. "Emboar, finish this with Flare Blitz! Heatmor, finish this with Fire Spin!"

Emboar zoomed at Tepig in a blast of blue fire with the Fire Spin swirling around it. Ash called for Tepig to move, but he was frozen with terror.

_"Tepig!"_ Celebi ran forward and shoved Tepig out of the way. There was an explosion, and when the smoke subsided, Celebi laid there, unconscious.

"Celebi!" Ash cried.

"Celebi is no longer able to battle!" Don George said.

Ash picked up Celebi. "Thanks, Rylee." he said quietly. "You did awesome."

"Thanks." Celebi said. "But that really hurt."

She glared at Tepig. Ash handed Celebi over to Zorua.

"You were really great out there, Rylee!" Iris said.

"Thanks." Celebi said. "I just hope that Tepig can handle Heatmor and Emboar."

Tepig snorted confidently and let out a cry. Suddenly, it was surrounded by a glowing blue light. We all gasped.

"Tepig is evolving!" Cilan said.

Tepig evolved into Pignite. Shamus looked surprised, but he quickly regained his composure and smirked. "Even after evolving, your Pignite is no match for my Emboar." he said.

"I see Pignite's learned a new move." Ash said. "Let's test it out, shall we? Use Fire Pledge!"

Pignite let out a cry and pounded its fist against the ground. Pillars of fire erupted from the ground and around Heatmor and Emboar, then they were blasted by a large pillar of fire.

"Finish this with Flame Charge!"

Pignite charged and landed its attack. Heatmor and Emboar fell to the ground, both unconscious.

"Emboar and Heatmor are unable to battle!" Don George said. "Which means that Ash, Tepig, and Celebi are the winners!"

"We did it!" Ash cried.

"All right, Pignite!" Iris cried.

"Now that was quite a battle!" Cilan said. "And with that, I have reached a verdict. It's as clear as spring water who was right!"

_"While everyone else realized who was right YESTERDAY."_ Celebi rolled her eyes.

Shamus returned his Pokémon to their PokéBalls. With a scowl, he walked over to Ash.

"You still got a problem, Shamus?" Ash said.

"Oh, no... you won the battle after all, fair and square." Shamus said, sarcasm leaking into his smile. "Sorry, Pignite. I was wrong when I said you didn't have potential, but not I see you do!"

"Huh?"

"Hey, I know! Since you haven't been able to forget me after all this time, why don't you come back to the team?" Shamus said. "We'll be awesome. Give up this loser of a trainer and come with me! We'll reach the top together! What do you say?"

_"Pignite can't seriously trust that guy after what he did to it."_ Rylee said.

Pignite turned to Shamus and blew fire into his face. Zorua covered her mouth to keep her laughter in. Shamus growled.

"Fine, whatever! I was never really interested in taking you back anyways!" Shamus said. "What I really want is that Celebi!"

"_Huh_?" Zorua said.

"What do you say, Rylee?" Shamus said to Zorua. "I'll trade you any of my Pokémon for that Celebi."

"Sorry..." Iris said. "But I don't think Celebi's going to be traded anytime soon."

"Huh?"

Zorua giggled and transformed back into her Pokémon self.

"What the-?!"

Celebi's eyes flashed and she transformed back into Rylee. Shamus gawked at her. She glared at him with flared eyes.

"Boo." she said.

Shamus screamed and ran away. Iris and Rylee laughed.


	9. A Clash of the Classiest of Connoisseurs

We made it to Icirrus City, where Ash defeated Brycen, the gym leader, and received his 7th gym badge. We decided to head to Opelucid City, but Nurse Joy informed us that it was closed. Ash was devastated by the news, but Iris seemed relieved for reasons unknown to me. Suddenly, a limousine pulled up beside us. A servant wearing a suit came out and bowed.

"Pardon me, but are you the A-Class Pokémon Connoisseur Cilan?" he said to Ash.

"Me?! Uh, no. Sorry." Ash said. He patted his hand on Cilan's shoulder and pointed at him. "This is him."

The servant looked at Cilan and he grew nervous. "Right! That's me! Can I help you?"

The servant picked up Cilan bridal-style. "I'm sorry, but you have an urgent invitation from Mr. Hatterly."

"A what? From who?"

The servant threw Cilan into the back seat of the limousine.

"Hey, you can't just do that!" I said.

"You're _all_ invited." one by one, the servant threw us into the limousine and drove off.

"I mean, I've always wanted to ride in a limo, but not like this!" Iris grumbled.

We untangled ourselves and sat down.

"Will you _please_ tell me what this is all about?" Cilan said.

"A man in Stonesthrow Town is requesting the assistance of an A-Class Connoisseur. His name is Mr. Hatterly." the servant said. "He requested you."

"But why?"

"You can ask Mr. Hatterly himself when you meet him."

Cilan turned to us. "What do you think?"

"It's fine with me." Ash said.

"Me too." Iris said.

"It's a change of pace, but it could be interesting." I said.

As the limo drove up to the gates of Mr. Hatterly's mansion, we saw Burgundy standing there, yelling at it.

"I demand you let me in! _Do it or else_!" she cried, kicking at the gate.

Cilan rolled down the window and poked his head out. "Burgundy, what are you doing here?"

Burgundy approached the window and peered inside with a scowl. "Because someone requested the help of a skilled connoisseuse, but they won't let me in!"

"My apologies, but Mr. Hatterly specifically requested the help of an A-Class Connoisseur." the servant said, whose presence frightened Burgundy.

"Yeah, aren't you like F-Class or something?" I said.

Burgundy growled while Zorua giggled in my lap. "C-CLASS! And what's so bad about that?!" she shrieked.

"I'm sorry, but C-class won't suffice." the servant said.

Burgundy's face grew red. "Why, I never!" she said.

The limo drove through the gates. Burgundy tried to run after us, but the gates closed on her. We walked in through the front door and after taking a few steps inside, the lights went out. A few spotlights turned on and shone on Cilan. He shielded his eyes with his arm.

"First off, Cilan, I want to thank you for taking the time to be here." the servant said. "Next, I would like to introduce you to another A-Class Connoisseur: Ricard Nouveau."

More spotlights turned on, creating a path, and the last one shone on another man with blonde hair and a light blue suit.

"Aha! 'Tis I, Ricard Nouveau!" Ricard said, bowing. "A-Class Pokémon Connoisseurs are quite special. They must be smart, observant, quite expressive, and physically fit. Only those recognized by the Pokémon Connoisseur Association receive this high honor."

Ricard sashayed over to Cilan.

"Oh. My. Gosh." I said.

"And I thought Cilan could get on my nerves occasionally, but this guy..." Iris said.

"_He walks like Alyssa._" Zorua said. A laugh burst from my mouth, and I had to quickly cover my mouth.

"You must be Cilan." Ricard said. "It is an honor to meet you."

"Thank you!" Cilan said. They shook hands.

"I hear that you are quite skilled for such a young Connoisseur." Ricard bent down and smelled Cilan's hand.

"What is he, a dog?" I mumbled.

"...But now that I've met you, I'm afraid you reek of inexperience." Ricard said.

Cilan scowled and yanked his hand away.

"Mr. Hatterly has now arrived." the servant said as the lights came on. At the top of the staircase was a man with maroon hair, wearing an orange sweater vest and gray trousers. Clinging to his leg was a little girl with pink, curly hair, big eyes, and she wore a yellow dress.

"Hello! I welcome you all to my home!" Mr. Hatterly said. "Greetings, Ricard and Cilan."

Ricard bowed. "I thank you for the invitation-"

"Pardon me, but I would like to know why we are here in the first place." Cilan said.

Mr. Hatterly laughed. "I'm sorry, that slipped my mind." he said. "The reason I invited you here is because of Marigold, my daughter."

Marigold, the little girl, bowed quickly and shyly hid behind her father. The curtains opened, revealing a beautiful and spacious garden. We went outside.

"I'm thinking about letting Marigold have her very first Pokémon." Mr. Hatterly said. "But since this is my daughter we're talking about, she needs to have an exceptional Pokémon worthy to be her first partner."

"_That's_ why you invited us?" Cilan said.

"Right!" Mr. Hatterly said.

"Consider the job done!" Ricard said.

"Hold on just a minute!" Cilan said. "It is true that helping to raise a recommend a Pokémon is our duty as Pokémon Connoisseurs, but first, we must get to know our client. May I ask Marigold a few questions?"

"Sure, go on ahead." Mr. Hatterly said.

Cilan crouched down on one knee to Marigold's level. "Would you mind telling me which Pokémon you play with here at the garden?"

Marigold whimpered and hid behind her father. "Marigold is friends with ALL of the garden's Pokémon." Mr. Hatterly said.

"HA! Please, how naive can you get!" a raspy voice cried. "You're about as clueless as a birthday present without wrapping paper or ribbons!"

A man popped out of a bush with gray, curly hair, a mustache, and purple eyes. The servant grabbed the old man.

"How dare you trespass on Mr. Hatterly's property without permission!" he said.

"I _demand_ you let go of me before I call the authorities!" the old man said. "The name is Fauxgundy. That's right, the legendary S-Class Pokémon Connoisseur!"

"Huh?" Ricard and Cilan said.

"Legendary S-Class Connoisseur?" Ash and Iris said.

"Oh, brother..." I crossed my arms.

"Here is my proof!" Fauxgundy proudly showed an S-Class badge. "Now, BACK OFF!"

The servant let Fauxgundy go and he stroked his mustache.

"Fauxgundy, I demand you explain why you called me naive!" Cilan said.

"Because picking a Pokémon by only asking questions IS naive!" Fauxgundy said, getting in Cilan's face.

"Oh, yeah? Then how would you do it?"

Fauxgundy approached Marigold. "A moment with the young miss." he said. He began smelling Marigold. After a few moments, she screamed and Mr. Hatterly scooped her away in his arms.

"_What _are you doing?!" he said.

Fauxgundy stood up and walked around the garden, smelling each of the Pokémon. He picked up a Lillipup and brought it over.

"I smelled the distinctive scent of your daughter's shampoo on his Lillipup." Fauxgundy said. "Therefore, I have no doubt that this Lillipup is your daughter's favorite Pokémon!"

Marigold's face drooped.

"I wouldn't be so sure..." Cilan said. He crossed his arms. "Your deductive reasoning may be a bit flawed."

"Excuse me?!" Fauxgundy said.

"To be honest, I did accidentally use Marigold's shampoo when I was washing Lillipup the other day..." Mr. Hatterly said.

"HUH?!"

Ricard and Cilan turned to Fauxgundy. "You know, I pride myself in being knowledgeable about all Pokémon Connoisseurs, but I've _never_ heard of you..." Cilan said.

"Uh..." Fauxgundy turned away. "I because a S-Class Connoisseur long before you two were even born!"

"That's strange, I didn't even think there was a Connoisseur Association back then." Ricard said.

"Can you show us your badge one more time?" Cilan said.

"Okay, I've had enough." I said. "Zorua?"

Zorua jumped from my shoulder and snatched Fauxgundy's badge from his pocket.

"Hey! You give that back right now!" Fauxgundy cried.

Zorua returned to her seat on my shoulder and handed me the badge.

"Let's see..." I said, feeling the surface of the badge. My fingers detected the tiniest, unusual bump. "Aha!"

I peeled off the S-Class seal, it being only a sticker, and showed everyone a C-Class badge.

"You forged that badge to make it look like a S-Class one!" Ricard said.

"GIVE THAT BACK!" Fauxgundy cried. He ran up the stairs towards me.

"Okay." I threw the badge over the terrace. Fauxgundy leaped after it and crashed to the ground. The gray hair and mustache flew off, revealing a familiar girl with purple hair.

"Burgundy!" Cilan said.

"Oh, no!" Burgundy cried.

The servant came and dragged Burgundy away.

"I'm afraid a C-Class Connoisseur won't suffice." Mr. Hatterly said. "I say we stick with A-Class for this."

"I still have a few more questions." Cilan said.

"Pish posh, question time is over!" Ricard said. "It's now EVALUATION TIME!"

I buried my face in my hands.

"Great. They all do that." Iris said.

"A lovely and gracious lady like Marigold needs to be matched with a similarly lovely Pokémon. With that in mind, let's have a look here." Ricard observed all the Pokémon. He walked over and picked up a snoozing Petilil. "Not only do Grass-types like Petilil possess a graceful poise with adorable looks, they have potential to evolve into a most glamorous Pokémon."

I glanced at Marigold, who looked disappointed.

"What do you think, Cilan?" Mr. Hatterly said.

"My idea is that Marigold's Pokémon isn't Lillipup or Petilil!" Cilan said. Marigold sighed in relief and Ricard scowled.

"So which Pokémon is it?" Ricard said.

"I'm still not sure..."

"I think you're only interested in disagreeing with me!"

"That's not true!"

"Hold on a minute!" Mr. Hatterly said. "I suggest that you have a Pokémon battle to settle this. Whoever wins gets to decide which Pokémon becomes Marigold's first."

"An excellent idea." Ricard said.

"I agree!" Cilan said.

"There's a battlefield out back. Now we can truly see what you A-Class Connoisseurs are made of!" Mr. Hatterly chuckled.

Mr. Hatterly, Marigold, and Ricard walked to the battlefield. I approached Cilan.

"Do you have any idea what Marigold's favorite Pokémon could be?" I said.

"Well, when I spoke to Marigold, I caught hold of the scent of a Pokémon. I recognize the smell, but I can't recall what it's from. I know it was of a Grass-type Pokémon." Cilan said.

"Well, looking around here, the only Grass-types around here are Petilil, Deerling, Sewaddle, and Whimsicott."

"Yes. But Deerling is a Grass- and Normal-type, Sewaddle is a Grass- and Bug-type, and Whimsicott and Petilil are regular Grass-types. None of them match." Cilan crossed his arms. "Something's not adding up... the scent I picked up was much more stimulating."

Cilan sniffed the air and his eyes perked up.

"There it is again! Where is it coming from?!"

Cilan got down on his hands and knees and crawled around, sniffing the ground.

"And I thought Burgundy doing that was ridiculous." I said.

I followed Cilan until he rammed his head into the swing of Marigold's play set. He examined the seat, which had glittery dust on it. He picked some up with his finger and smell it.

"I've got it!" Cilan said, standing up. "I know what Marigold's favorite Pokémon is!"

"Cilan!" Ash and Iris came running over. "Your battle's about to start!"

"But now that you're both here, I need you two to do something for me." Cilan said. "Rylee, will you come and watch the battle?"

"Sure!" I said.

* * *

Ricard and Cilan stood on opposite sides of the battlefield. Marigold, Mr. Hatterly and I sat canopied tables.

"I believe Petilil would be a splendid Pokémon for you, so I'm hoping that Ricardo will win." Mr. Hatterly said to Marigold. She sighed. I approached her and knelt beside her.

"Don't worry, Marigold." I whispered. "Cilan knows what he's doing and he knows what Pokémon you'd really prefer."

Marigold looked at me in surprise, but then she smiled. I stood up and returned to my table.

"Now, battle begin!" the servant said.

Ricard brought out his Pokémon: a Purrloin.

"Uh oh." I said.

Cilan cried out. "Not a Purrloin!"

"Oh, is something wrong?" Ricard smirked.

"No, everything is fine..." Cilan said, his voice cracking every other syllable.

"You're not afraid of a _Purrloin_, are you?"

"_He's trying to psych him out._" Zorua said. "_And it's working._"

"Cilan, don't let Ricard get to you!" I said. "Remember, this is for Marigold!"

Cilan looked to me and nodded. He took a deep breath and called out Crustle.

"Using a Rock- and Bug-type against my Dark-type Pokémon?" Ricard said. "How utterly straightforward of you."

"Thank you." Cilan said. "Now, Crustle, use X-Scissor!"

Crustle lunged at Purrloin, but it dodged.

"My Purrloin's speed surpasses even that of its evolved form, Liepard! Sand-attack!" Purrloin swiped dirt up from the ground with its claws and it landed in Crustle's eyes. "Now, Fury Swipes!"

Purrloin kept its claws extracted and slashed at Crustle.

"It's true that your Crustle was a good pick, having been faithfully raised by you, however my evaluation tells me that you're BORING!" Ricard said. "An A-Class Pokémon Connoisseur must have a sparkling, unpredictable quality."

Cilan growled. "Crustle, use Shell Smash!"

Crustle leaped out of its shell.

"Purrloin, use Night Slash!"

Darkness collected around Purrloin's paw and it charged, but Crustle dodged at the last second with unbelievable speed.

"Huh?!"

"Use Rock Wrecker!" Crustle raised its pincers and a large boulder formed. It launched the rock and it hit Purrloin. Purrloin fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Purrloin is unable to battle!" the servant said. "The victory goes to Cilan."

I jumped from my seat and clapped. "Way to go, Cilan!"

Cilan smiled at me and returned Crustle to its PokéBall.

"Wonderful! That was a most excellent battle!" Mr. Hatterly said. "So, Cilan, have you decided what elegant Pokémon you're going to recommend to my Marigold?"

"Yes. Instead of choosing a Pokémon based on looks and style, I've chosen a Pokémon that's more importantly best suited for Marigold's personality!" Cilan said. He knelt down to Marigold's level. "I think Marigold has already made a strong connection with a certain Pokémon."

"Really?" Mr. Hatterly said.

"WHAT?!" Ricard said.

Marigold glanced at me. I smiled at her and nodded.

"I wasn't aware of this." Mr. Hatterly said. "Is it any of the garden Pokémon, Marigold?"

Marigold vigorously shook her head.

"No." Cilan said. "But the Pokémon best suited for Marigold is that one!"

Cilan pointed at Ash and Iris, who ran over to us. In Ash's arms was a Foongus. Marigold gasped in delight and ran over. Foongus jumped from Ash into Marigold's arms.

"All the options and she wants _that_?" Mr. Hatterly said.

"I really can't recommend that Pokémon from a fashion state of point." Ricard said.

"The scent I picked up from Marigold was of a Grass- and Poison- type Pokémon. However, none of the garden Pokémon matched that type combination." Cilan said. "That's when I realized Marigold must be playing with a different Pokémon altogether!"

"Marigold, is that true?" Mr. Hatterly said.

Marigold nodded. "When I was playing by myself on the swing set in the backyard, Foongus came and played with me! Ever since then, Foongus has always been my special friend." Marigold looked up at her dad with tears in her eyes. "But I couldn't tell you, Daddy, because I thought you wouldn't like it. I'm really sorry, Daddy!"

"Oh, Marigold. I'm sorry too." Mr. Hatterly said. "I promise that I'll be happy with whatever Pokémon you choose." They hugged each other.

"That's really sweet." Iris said.

"Yeah." I said.

"The bond between Marigold and Foongus was abundantly clear to you. You win today, Cilan." Ricard said. They shook hands. "But... the next time we meet, it'll be a whole different story."

"We'll just see about that, Ricard." Cilan said.

"Then I'll be looking forward to that day."

"Me too!"


	10. An Electrifying Mishap

"One little boat ride away until I get my 8th gym badge!" Ash said. "I'm so excited!"

As we headed for the ferry, a Vanilluxe passed us by. Iris saw it and whimpered.

"What's an Ice-type doing here?! Get it away from me!" she cried, clutching Axew to her chest.

Vanilluxe floated closely beside Iris and Axew. They trembled in fright.

"Vanilluxe, return." a voice said. Vanilluxe returned to its PokéBall. We looked to see Georgia, Iris's rival. "What are the odds. My Vanilluxe wants to befriend a Dragon-type Pokémon."

"I guess that would be Axew." Iris said.

"Look, I only caught Vanilluxe so I could beat you, Little Miss Dragon Master." Georgia said, waving Vanilluxe's PokéBall in Iris's face.

Iris narrowed her eyes on Georgia. "But you already know that I'm not a Dragon Master yet."

"No duh! That's because you're still too weak."

"Not as weak as the little kid you are." Iris smirked.

"Go on, make jokes, but I don't have time for them. I'm on my way to Ferroseed Research."

"Why?"

"Because their moss improves a Pokémon's skills."

"That's intriguing." Cilan said.

"You bet. Toodles." Georgia turned and walked away.

"We should go check out Ferroseed Research too!" Ash said. "Maybe we can get some moss!"

* * *

"Welcome to Ferroseed Research. My name is Case, one of Professor Malveaux's assistants." a worker with brown hair and pale green eyes said.

"Nice to meet you." Georgia said. "I'm here because I heard that you have moss that can improve a Pokémon's skills."

"I want some of that too!" Ash said.

"Just when exactly did I say that you could come with me?!" Georgia snapped.

"You didn't. Oh well." Iris said.

"It's always nice to meet young people that are interested in our research!" Case said. "Let's head to the second floor."

We went up the elevator to the second floor. We passed by small rooms where Ferroseed clung to different kinds of rocks. Researchers stood nearby, holding clipboards and taking notes. A Ferroseed expelled one of its spikes. It shattered on the ground and yellow moss grew in that spot. Another room with Ferroseed had green moss growing on the floor. We went up to the third floor, where researchers tested the moss's abilities. We observed a room with Ferroseed clinging to stones from Chargestone Cave. We went up to the fourth floor, where researchers made moss to increase certain skills for certain types of Pokémon.

"Do you have any moss for Ice-types like Vanilluxe?" Georgia said. She brought out Vanilluxe, who immediately floated over to Iris and Axew. They screamed. Oshawott came out of its PokéBall and gawked at Vanilluxe.

"It's like Purrloin all over again." I said.

"At least Vanilluxe isn't a male." Cilan said and I laughed.

Axew jumped out of Iris's arms and ran down the hall with Vanilluxe and Oshawott following it.

"Axew, wait!" Iris called, chasing after the three.

"I'll go after Iris and the others." Ash said, running down the hall.

Suddenly, alarms blared through the intercoms and red lights flashed along the walls.

"It's the emergency alarm system from the third floor!" Case said.

Ash cried out. We looked to see blue moss slowly inching down the hallway. It crackled with electricity. Pikachu fell to the ground.

"Pikachu, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Ash said, picking up Pikachu. The moss advanced towards them.

"Ash, look out!" I cried.

I ran towards them and pulled them away. A tendril of moss shot out and slammed into my chest. I exclaimed as I flew back and hit the ground.

* * *

~THIRD PERSON POV~

"Rylee!" Cilan and Ash cried as Rylee hit the floor. They ran to her side. She was unconscious, but she twitched and trembled.

"This is a code red!" Case said. "We need to get to the underground control room!"

Cilan scooped Rylee into his arms bridal-style and they all followed Case and another worker to the control room.

* * *

Ash laid Pikachu on a bench and Cilan sat Rylee next to it, propped up against the wall.

"Hang in there, guys." Ash said.

"It came on so suddenly." Cilan said. "What could've done this?"

"The Ferroseed moss." a man with gray hair and a mustache wearing a brown suit walked into the room.

"Professor Malveaux!" Case said.

Malveaux walked over and felt Pikachu's head. "Pikachu has inhaled a large amount of moss spores. They're causing a reaction that has caused Pikachu to become sick." he said. He turned to Ash and Cilan. "What about the girl?"

"Rylee came over to help me and Pikachu when all of a sudden the moss attacked her." Ash said.

Malveaux knelt down and examined Rylee. "I see..." he said. He stood and looked at the screens. "So this moss is because of the Ferroseed that are using the stones from the Chargestone Cave. They must have also absorbed the power from the stones."

"What does that have to do with what happened to Rylee?" Ash said.

"When the moss came in contact with Rylee, it sent a large amount of electricity into her body that could power a small city." Malveaux said. "The impact caused her body to temporarily shut down. Fortunately, she survived such a fatal incident. It's quite rare. I've only seen Pokémon survive an attack like that."

Cilan and Ash shared a look.

"Pikachu needs a treatment given to it." Malveaux said. He gave Case a recipe. "As for Rylee, she seems to be functioning again. She is simply in comatose, though I believe it will not last long. We'll just have to be patient."

"We inhaled the moss spores as well." Cilan said. "Are we at risk as well?"

"And what about the other Pokémon?" Georgia said. "My Vanilluxe is still upstairs!"

"Based on research, I don't think the spores have any effect on humans." Malveaux said. "Although, Pokémon are a different story..."

Malveaux received a call from the Pokémon Center.

"This is Nurse Joy." Nurse Joy's face appeared on the screen.

"Professor Malveaux here. It appears that a few of our Ferroseed have caused some serious trouble, and for that, I apologize." Malveaux said.

"So the trouble we've been having started at your research center? Pokémon have been lining up in extreme distress and need for our medical help. I suspected moss spores." Nurse Joy said. "But do you know why every Pokémon I've seen is either an Electric-type or Ground-type?"

"That explains Pikachu." Ash said.

"Thank goodness Vanilluxe is safe... for the time being." Georgia said, resting a hand on her heart.

* * *

~RYLEE~

I opened my eyes to a familiar dark area. I sat up and clutched my head. My ribs ached with each breath I took. I stood up and walked forward.

"Dad?"

He emerged from the shadows and smiled.

"Rylee. Hello."

"Hi. Look, Dad, I'm sorry that I pushed you too far the last time we talked." I said. "There's so much about my life and who I am that I don't understand. It hurts me that you know what I don't and you won't tell me anything."

"I'm sorry, kiddo." Dad said. "For forcing you out and keeping things from you. I promise you that one day, the truth will come to you."

"Thanks, Dad. And guess what? I can transform into my Pokémon form!"

"That's wonderful." Dad smiled.

"I have a question for you. What's a Pokémon Guardian?"

Dad's face both lit up and dimmed at the same time. He stretched out his hands and the darkness vanished. We stood on a desert plain. All around us, I saw men and women dressing in faded white armor. Pokémon of all different kinds stood at their side.

"Pokémon and man have lived together peacefully since the beginning of time." Dad said. "However, there are people that will try to take advantage of Pokémon and use them for their own evil purposes."

"Like Team Rocket." I said.

"Correct. However, there are many more evil organizations like Team Rocket in our world." Dad hesitated slightly. "Do you know of a group called Team Plasma?"

"No."

"Every region has a specific organization. In the Kanto region, it is Team Rocket. Here in Unova, it is Team Plasma. Their leader is a man name Ghetsis."

Dad waved his hand and a picture of Ghetsis appeared, with the Team Plasma emblem glowing behind him. Ghetsis was an older man with a red monocle over his eye and graying green hair. He wore a black cape with the Team Plasma emblem on it and he held a staff. Two grunts appeared next to him, covered in dark gray and black jumpsuits, black hats with the Team Plasma emblem on the front, and fabric covering their mouths. They both had red hair and blue eyes. When my eyes fell on the grunts, my brain ached and my heart filled with rage.

_It was them. They took him._

I was startled by my own subconscious voice.

_Who?_

I reached up and felt the bump of my necklace underneath my sweater.

"Is something wrong, Rylee?" Dad said.

"No, no." I said. "So, are Pokémon Guardians there to prevent organizations like Team Rocket and Team Plasma from doing really bad things?"

"That's one of our duties." Dad said. "We watch over both Pokémon and people, protecting them from danger. We are their voice."

"What do you mean, 'we'?"

Dad waved his hand and showed an image of a young man dressed in faded white armor with brown hair and special green eyes. Articuno stood next to him.

"Is that you?" I said.

Dad nodded. "People with special power and potential have the opportunity to become Pokémon Guardians. There are three ranks of Guardians: Pages, Squires and Knights." Dad said. "When you first started your personal pilgrimage, you received the title of a Page. When your powers are fully developed, you will receive the title of Squire. After that, you have the chance to train and become a Knight, the highest rank of a Pokémon Guardian, like me."

"Wow." I said. "I have another question."

"What?"

I took off my necklace and dangled it in the air for him to see. "The Legendary Trio of Milos Island gave me this necklace. They said there is only one other necklace like this in the world." I said. "Who has the other one?"

Dad smiled. "I believe the answer is in the necklace."

"Huh?"

I examined the necklace and saw a crease on the side. I tried to open it, but a tiny shield of Protect enveloped the necklace and shocked my hands.

"Ow." I hissed. The Protect disappeared.

"Sorry, but the contents are sealed." Dad said. "The only way to open the necklace is when it and its other partner necklace are united."

"Great. More cryptic messages." I rolled my eyes. Cilan and Ash's voices echoed in muffled cries around us.

"It's time for you to go back." Dad said. "Your friends are in trouble. Articuno will be of great help to you."

"Huh?"

* * *

"Tell Officer Jenny to close off all the bridges!" Malveaux said. "We must contain the moss!"

Case gave Pikachu the treatment.

"The moss is spreading! It'll reach the roof soon!" a worker said.

The screen switched to the roof, where it show Iris, Oshawott, Axew, and Vanilluxe.

"Iris! She's on the roof!" Cilan cried.

"What?!" Georgia and Ash jumped to their feet and stared at the screen.


	11. The Cooling Solution

~IRIS~

"Come on, guys, let's get off this roof and find the others." I said. The door opened, but on the other side, the area was covered in blue moss. It crackled with electricity. I cried out and smashed my finger against a button until the door closed. "What's going on?!"

"Iris!" I heard Cilan's voice. A video intercom turned on next to the door with Ash, Cilan, and Georgia on the other line. When I stepped up to the screen, I could see Pikachu and Rylee unconscious in the background.

"Cilan, what's going on?" I said.

"The moss from the third floor is rapidly growing and its out of control!" Cilan said. "It doesn't appear to effect humans in any way, but it's a totally different story for Electric- and Ground-type Pokémon."

Georgia shoved Cilan out of the way and inched her face extremely close to the camera. "If anything happens to my Vanilluxe, you'll be sorry!" she cried. "YOU HEAR ME?!"

"Uh huh." I said, rolling my eyes.

Oshawott screamed next to me. I looked to see the moss leaking through the door.

"Guys, get back!" We ran to the edge of the roof. I gasped when I saw the city below. Moss covered almost the entire area. "We've got to do something!"

I brought out Excadrill and Emolga.

"Excadrill, use Focus Blast! Emolga, Hidden Power!"

As they charged up to attack, the moss spores wafted in their faces. They fell to the ground, unconscious.

"Ah! Of course! A Ground-type and an Electric-type!" I said, thumping myself against the head. I returned Excadrill and Emolga back into their PokéBalls. The moss continued moving towards us.

* * *

~TPPOV~

The screen went black. "It must be the moss." one worker said. "What will we do?!"

"I have an idea." a voice said.

Cilan and Ash turned around. "Rylee!" they cried.

Rylee's eyes opened and she put her weight into her arms as she tried to stand. Cilan rushed over and helped her up.

"What are you talking about?" Ash said.

"The moss. It has a weakness: Ice-type moves." Rylee said.

"What? How could you know something like that?" Malveaux said.

"That's not important right now. The city is in danger and the moss needs to be stopped. I'm going to go and find Iris-"

Rylee took half a step and doubled over in pain. She clutched her torso and cried out.

"Rylee, don't. You're still hurt." Cilan said, resting a hand on her back.

"Don't worry, Cilan. I heal quickly." Rylee gave him a look. Cilan caught a glimpse of orange and pink and he understood.

"Notify Officer Jenny immediately!" Malveaux said.

"Oh no! The Ferroseed!" a worker said.

The Ferroseed causing the rogue moss slammed into each other and bounced off the walls.

"They absorbed too much electricity from the stones. They're in pain." Rylee said. "We need to transfer the electricity out of their bodies!"

"But how are we going to get to the third floor?" Case said. "We don't have any Ice-type Pokémon here at the laboratory."

"Yes, you do." Georgia said. She brought out Beartic and Rylee brought out Articuno.

Malveaux grabbed some containers. "Georgia and Rylee, will you assist me to the third floor?" he said.

"Of course." Georgia and Rylee said.

"Cilan, we'll keep an eye out for Iris." Rylee said. Cilan nodded.

"When Pikachu is feeling better, we'll join you." Ash said.

* * *

~RYLEE~

We traveled down the building to the third floor. Every spot of moss we came across was blasted by Beartic's Ice Beam and Articuno's Ice-type moves. We reached the third floor, where I could see the Ferroseed among a bunch of moss. Beartic and Articuno blasted it away, and on the other side of the room was Iris and Vanilluxe.

"Wow, for something who hates Ice-types, you're handling one pretty well." Georgia said.

Malveaux set up a machine and when he pressed a button, electric bonds reached out and wrapped around the Ferroseed. They slowly made their way to Malveaux and were inserted into the machine. Suddenly, the Ferroseed glowed as tremendous waves of electricity flew off their bodies.

"Get back!" Malveaux cried.

The Ferroseed ejected from the machine.

"What happened?" I asked.

"The Ferroseed are unable to control the electricity." Malveaux said. "We need to figure out how to drain it from them."

"Leave that to us!" Ash stepped in with Pikachu. Ash called out Pignite, who used Flamethrower on the Ferroseed. They fell to the ground. Ash returned Pignite to its PokéBall. "Okay, Pikachu! Go!"

Pikachu ran forward and touched its tail against on Ferroseed. The electricity absorbed into it. Cilan called out Stunfisk and it did the same. The Ferroseed returned to normal. Pikachu and Stunfisk released their stored energy up and out the window.

* * *

"I must thank you all for your help." Malveaux said. "You helped to save my research facility."

"Iris, have you ever considered becoming an Ice Master?" Georgia said. "You and my Vanilluxe sure were in perfect sync back there."

"As much as I appreciate the offer, I think I'll pass." Iris said.

Georgia chuckled. "Well, that's good. Or else, how would I be able to crush you if you're not a Dragon Master?"

Iris smirked. "We'll just see who gets crushed."


	12. Stepping Into The Spotlight

We took a boat to Virbank City.

"If I beat the Virbank City gym, that'll be the last gym badge that I need!" Ash said. "Then I'll be able to enter the Unova league! I'm so psyched!"

"You're not the only one!" Cilan said. "Virbank City! Such zest, and I get to experience it first-hand! I can practically taste the passion and creativity!"

"You feeling alright?" I said.

Cilan chuckled slyly. "For a film connoisseur like myself, Virbank City is the place to be!" he said. I heard Iris sigh beside me. "Virbank City is home to scores of film studios! It is like the movie capital of the Unova region!"

Pikachu looked past Ash's shoulder and its jaw dropped. Ash looked over and cried out.

"It's... me!" he said.

We looked as well, and sure enough, there standing in front of us was another Ash. It giggled.

"Hey, I know who that is!" Iris said.

The other Ash jumped into the air and encased itself in a magenta light. Its body size shrunk and a Zorua landed on the ground and let out a mischievous giggle.

"Wow! Another Zorua!" I said.

Zorua stood in front of a boy with brown hair and blue eyes. He had a large camera on his shoulder and he filmed the view of the ocean.

"Hey, Luke!" Ash said. The boy turned around and smiled.

"Hey, guys!" Luke approached us. My Zorua jumped down from my shoulder and approached the other. "Wow, I've never seen another Zorua before! Is it yours?"

"Yes." I said. "My name's Rylee."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Luke!" Luke said. "So what are you guys doing here?"

"I'm going to challenge the Virbank gym!" Ash said. "What about you?"

"I was invited to a preview event before the premiere." Luke said.

"Preview event?" Cilan said. His eyes lit up. "You mean...?!"

"Yup!" Luke said and Cilan giggled with delight.

"I'm obviously missing something." I said. "What are you talking about?"

"They finally finished Pokéstar Studios." Luke said. "It's a theme park located on the studio lot."

"It's a place where you can get to see real film props and movie sets!" Cilan said. "They'll even let you make your own movie!"

"Remember the first movie we made? 'The Legend of the Pokémon Knight' got top honors at a film festival!"

"I guess that makes us movie stars!" Iris said.

"Now there's a movie I'd want to see." I said.

"Hey, since you're all here, how about you give me a hand?" Luke said. "Let's head to Pokéstar Studio."

"YOU MEAN WE CAN ACTUALLY GET IN?!" Cilan said.

"Yup!"

"But... what about my gym battle?" Ash said.

Cilan grabbed his shoulders and got really close to his face. "Ash! The gym isn't going anywhere!" he cried. "This is the opportunity of a lifetime! So, let's... go... NOW!"

Cilan grabbed Ash's wrist and dragged him away.

"Hey, Cilan-!" Ash cried.

Iris and I chuckled. "What a kid." Iris said. "He's about as excited as back in Nimbasa City with his trains."

* * *

"Welcome to Pokéstar Studios!" Luke said.

We saw the Pokémon Hall of Fame, posters from classic Pokémon films, and we went to a museum that displayed famous movie props.

"Alright then. Now that we've seen all the sights, let's get this competition going!" Luke said.

"Competition?" Ash said.

"Every aspiring director who's been invited to the premiere event today can enter the studio's film contest." Luke said.

"You're entering, aren't you?" Iris said.

"Of course!"

"I bet this is what you needed our help with." I said.

"Right again! What do you say?"

"Well, the thing is..." Ash said.

"I'll gladly do anything you tell me to!" Cilan cried.

"I'm in too!" Iris said.

"...Alright, count me in!" Ash said.

"What about you, Rylee?" Luke said.

"Hm... I don't know..." I said.

"You must!" Cilan said. "After all, this is-"

"An opportunity of a lifetime. I got it." I said. "Okay, why not. I'll do it."

* * *

We ran into Mr. Gold, the president of Pokéstar Studios, then we went to the building where we could get our props. We had lunch and Luke showed us the plot of the movie through a storyboard. We ran into Luke's competing rival, a boy names Jules. After lunch, we headed back to the props building.

"Alright, the cast is decided." Luke said, holding a clipboard. "Ash, Pikachu, and Pignite are the Unova Defense Force."

Ash, Pikachu, and Pignite were all dressed in identical red and black jumpsuits with white boots and white helmets.

"Awesome! I'm the lead again!" Ash said.

"Cilan is the evil alien villain that controls the Mecha-Tyranitar."

Cilan wore a black and gray suit, black boots, a long purple cape, and space-style sunglasses. He had a gem on his forehead and a scepter in his hand. His hair was spiked up.

"Villain? Great!" Cilan said. "Of course, the quality of an evil character can either make or break a film!"

"Iris, Axew, and my Zorua are Pokémon Island Princesses."

Axew and Iris were dressed in brown floor length ponchos decorated with red designs and blue beads. They wore circlets around their heads. Luke's Zorua transformed into another Iris.

"Princess? I like the sound of that!" Iris said.

"And finally, Rylee is the Pokémon goddess that gets kidnapped by the villain, with her Zorua as her guardian, Ninetales." Luke said. "Come on out, Rylee!"

"I'm not so sure about this..." I called from behind a shelf. "This feels so weird."

"Don't worry, this will be fun!" Iris said.

"Okay..."

I stepped out and into the view of everyone's widened eyes.

"Rylee... you look beautiful!" Iris said.

"Really?" I said, glancing down at my outfit. I wore a white one-shoulder, floor length Greek dress with a gold belt and gold along the strap. My hair was up in a fancy braided bun with a few hairs hanging down around my face. A gold circlet sat around my forehead. I fingered the locket hanging above Articuno's PokéBall. "Thanks."

"Hey, Cilan, could you also operate the Mecha-Tyranitar?" Luke said. There was a pause. "Cilan?"

We all looked at Cilan, but he remained silent. The sunglasses couldn't hide the conspicuous gaze he held on me. He looked awe-struck. Entranced, even. I looked away and blushed.

"Cilan!"

Cilan cleared his throat and tore his eyes away. "Huh? Oh, yeah, of course I can!" Cilan said. "After all, I've seen The Titanic Tyranitar ten times!"

"Alright. Now for the crew: Golett will be the Assistant Director and sound, the Leavannies will be costume and makeup, and I'll be the director as well as the cameraman!" Luke said. "Alright, everyone, let's do a great job and win Best Picture!"

"Yeah!" we all cheered and pumped our fists in the air.

* * *

After a few days of filming, editing, and exhaustion, our movie was done and ready to be viewed. The Film Contest began the following morning. We arrived early and took our seats. We saw many films before ours, including Jules'. Finally, it was our turn. The lights dimmed.


	13. And The Oscar Goes To

A plane zoomed through the air. Inside was pilot Ash, Pikachu, and Pignite of the Unova Defense Force. As they flew, Ash cried out as he saw a large Tyranitar trudging through water, heading towards land.

"Unova Defense Force, over!" Ash said. "I'm tracking the giant Tyranitar!"

"You must keep it from reaching Pokémon Island!" a voice from the radio said.

"Roger! Engaging target!" Ash said. "Pikachu, Pignite, prepare to attack!"

The top of the jet opened and Pignite and Pikachu hopped onto the wings.

"Do it!"

Pignite and Pikachu attacked Tyranitar with Thunderbolt and Flamethrower. When the fire extinguished itself, the giant Pokémon revealed itself to be Mecha-Tyranitar. Mecha-Tyranitar unleashed a powerful laser. It hit one of the airplane's wings and it spiraled to the ground. As Ash and his Pokémon floated to the ground from their parachutes, a UFO appeared.

"It... can't be!" Ash said.

The scene changed to inside the UFO.

"Haha!" Cilan cackled. "All of the Pokémon on this island will soon belong to the Planet Cilanilon and me!"

"So he's the one controlling Mecha-Tyranitar!" Ash said.

Ash and his Pokémon landed in the forest and took off their parachutes.

"Are you okay?" Two voices said. Ash turned to see the Island Princesses, Axew, and Golett.

"I'm Ash from the Unova Defense Force." Ash said. "Mecha-Tyranitar's headed straight for this island. We must evacuate immediately!"

"No! I can't leave the Island Pokémon!" Iris said.

"But if you don't-"

"Golurk, the Titan, rests here!" Zorua, also as Iris, said. "The Pokémon Goddess is in danger!"

"Pokémon Goddess?"

"Yes. The Pokémon Goddess watches over all Pokémon. She has been kidnapped by the evil alien Cilan!" Iris said. "We must restore Golurk and save her!"

They walked through the forest and arrived at a giant statue of a Golurk.

"This is Golurk, the legendary Titan?" Ash said.

Meanwhile, the UFO and Mecha-Tyranitar moved from water to land.

"Every single Pokémon on this island shall belong to me!" Cilan said. "Resist and Mecha-Tyranitar shall unleash its fury!"

"You will not _dare_ hurt the Pokémon!" Rylee, the Pokémon Goddess, said, who sat on her knees with her arms bound to her sides by energy ropes.

"And who will stop me?" Cilan said. "You are powerless and will soon be subject to me!"

"My servants will do all in their power to free me! Then you'll see how powerless I am." Rylee growled. Her eyes flared purple.

Cilan cackled again. An energy ray shot out from the UFO and captured the island Pokémon.

"Oh no! The Pokémon!" Ash said.

"We must restore Golurk now!" Iris said.

"Yes." Zorua said. They prayed to the statue, but Mecha-Tyranitar launched a ball of fire at the statue and destroyed it. "Oh no!"

"Stop this at once!" Rylee said. "You monster! Let the Pokémon go!"

"Do not fret, Your Majesty, for soon you will be taken back to my planet." Cilan said. He walked over and knelt to her level. He gripped her chin in his hand and their faces were inches away. "Then we can begin planning the wedding."

Rylee's cheeks grew as red as tomatoes. "WEDDING?!" she cried. She pulled her head away. "You must be out of your mind to believe I would ever consider marrying _you_!"

Cilan smirked and walked away. A frightened look washed over Rylee's face and a droplet of sweat raced down the side of her face. She bowed her head, letting the loose hairs fall over her face, and closed her eyes.

_My princesses. Please help me..._

Her thoughtful pleas traveled into the minds of her servants.

"The Goddess! She needs our help!" the princesses cried.

Pikachu and Pignite attacked, but it did nothing to Mecha-Tyranitar. It shot lasers from its eyes at the princesses, but Golett stepped in the way and took the attack. It fell to the ground.

"Golett!" the princesses cried. They took its hands. "Golett, please stay with us!"

Golett's hand slipped from theirs and rested on the ground. Its eyes dimmed. Iris and Zorua both shed a single tear and they fell on Golett's forearm. Suddenly, Golett glowed blue and it floated up in the air. It evolved into Golurk and continued to grow until it was the size of Mecha-Tyranitar.

"It's the Titan of Legend, Golurk!" the princesses cried.

Golurk thrust its arms to the side and roared.

"Golurk." Rylee said, relief spreading into her smile.

"I don't care who that is!" Cilan growled. "You won't stand in our way!"

Mecha-Tyranitar swung its tail at Golurk, but Golurk caught it and pushed it to the ground. It used Mega Punch and destroyed Mecha-Tyranitar.

"How _dare_ you foil my plans!" Cilan called from the UFO. It sent a laser at Golurk, but it reached its hand out and blocked it. Golurk used Psychic to bring out the Island Pokémon.

"The Pokémon are safe!" Zorua said.

"But what about the Goddess?" Iris said.

Golurk spun rapidly like a top and launched itself into the UFO.

"I WON'T FORGET THIS!" Cilan cried. The UFO spun out of control in the air until is exploded. Through the smoke, the people on the ground detected something falling to the ground.

"Your Majesty!" Iris cried.

"The Pokémon Goddess!" Zorua said.

As Rylee fell, a shadow zoomed from the trees and leaped into the air. The princesses gasped.

"Ninetales!" they cried.

"Ninetales?" Ash said.

"The Goddess's Guardian Pokémon." Iris said.

Rylee fell onto the back of Ninetales. Ninetales landed on the ground with Rylee and they approached Ash and the princesses. Rylee climbed off Ninetales and stroked its mane.

"Rylee!" the princesses called.

Rylee turned to see the two girls running to her and she embraced them.

"My beloved servants... Thank you." she said.

Golurk restored the statue back to normal and reverted back to Golett.

"Golett, I am deeply grateful to you for saving me." Rylee said. She shifted her gaze to Ash. "Ash, I thank you as well."

"You're very welcome." Ash, Pikachu, and Pignite bowed.

Rylee looked to the sky as it began to set.

"The Pokémon are safe, as well as this island." she said.

Everyone looked to the Golurk statue.

"Thank you, Golurk!" the princesses cried. "Thank you!"

* * *

The film ended and the lights came on. The theater remained silent.

"They... didn't like it..." Luke said. He sighed and bowed his head.

Suddenly, the entire audience erupted into applause. Luke stood up to acknowledge himself. He beamed with pride and happiness. He, Jules, and two other people stood on the stage.

"The results are in!" the announcer said. "The winner of Best Picture is... Luke!"

A spotlight fell on Luke and they handed him a trophy. My friends and I went up to the stage.

"Your film was splendid, Luke." Mr. Gold said.

"Thank you!" Luke said.

"And now for the grand prize: the opportunity to direct a brand new film, back by resources from Pokéstar Studios!" the announcer said. The crowd went wild.

"Luke, you're going to do so awesome!" Iris said.

"Thanks!" Luke said. "I couldn't have done this without you! You guys made the film awesome!"

"Who would want to pass up the chance to be a villain?" Cilan said.

"Even though he exploded in the end." Ash said and Cilan laughed.

"I especially loved the little acts of improv that really captured the scene! Cilan, you nailed it when you spilled the details of your plot to Rylee while sinisterly taking her face in your hands. And Rylee, when you made your face all red in anger? Pure genius!"

"Oh, yeah, anger..." I said, letting out a nervous chuckle. I felt my cheeks heat up again. "I guess I was really into the moment."

Zorua covered her mouth with her paw and giggled quietly.


	14. Sweeter Than Violin or Lute

The Virbank City gym was different than the previous seven we visited. It was the home of a constant rock and roll concert, with screaming fans and screaming instrumental solos. The Gym Leader, Roxie, was the guitar player of a famous Unova band, "Koffing and the Toxics". Ash challenged Roxie and won, receiving his eighth and final gym badge.

We went to the Pokémon Center, and Nurse Joy told us the Unova League was still three months away.

"Well, since we've got some time until the Unova League, let's have some fun! See some sights!" I said. "Adventure is knocking at our door and we are going to answer it!"

"Someone's excited." Iris said.

"Well, we've got plenty of time to kill before the Unova League, so-"

"Let's start training right away!" Ash said.

"What?! That's not what I meant!" I said.

"Well, since we are in Virbank City, I suggest that we get a Bearticone!" Cilan said.

"That sounds yummy!" Iris said, licking her lips at the thought.

"Alright, then. We'll go get a Bearticone, and then we start training!" Ash said.

"Not what I had in mind, but okay..." I said.

* * *

We went to a Bearticone stand, where we saw a woman with long blonde hair in deep contemplation. she wore a light blue halter top and black pants.

"Hm, so many flavors to choose from..." she said, tapping her foot. "But which one do I pick?"

"Whoa... is that Cynthia?!" Ash said.

The woman turned around. "Ash, hello!" she said.

"Long time no see!"

"Hold on a minute!" Cilan said. "Are you saying you're friends with the Sinnoh League Champion?!"

"Yeah!" Ash said. "It's a long story."

I glanced at Iris, who stared at Cynthia in awe.

"I'm glad to see you doing well." Cynthia said.

"Thanks!" Ash said.

"Uh... I'm a Pokémon Connoisseur named Cilan!" Cilan stuttered.

Iris pushed her way to the front. "Hi, my name is Iris!" she said. "Hey, Cynthia?"

"Yes?" Cynthia said.

"Uh..." Iris blushed nervously and looked at her hands. "Nevermind..."

"This isn't awkward at all." I snickered. "What are you doing here in Virbank City, Cynthia?"

"I'm catching a plane that's going to eastern Unova." Cynthia said. "I'm going to Undella Town and then Lacunosa Town, where the Junior Pokémon World Cup Tournament is being held."

"Junior Tournament Pokémon Cup of World... Junior?" Ash said, scratching this head.

Cynthia chuckled. "I know what you mean. I'm been asked to do an exhibition match to open up the Tournament."

"So does that mean we'll get to see you battle live?!" Iris said.

"Hey, maybe I'll enter!" Ash said.

"Anyone can!" Cynthia said. "The winner of the tournament has the chance to battle Alder, the Unova League Champion!"

"Then I'm battling for sure!"

"I want to enter too!" Iris said.

"Interesting! I think I'll enter as well!" Cilan said.

"I think I'll pass on this one." I said. "But I'll have fun watching!"

"Oh, come on, Rylee! Since when are you one to chicken out of a challenge?" a voice behind me said.

I tensed up. The gaze of my friends lingered behind me before immediately shifting to me, as if urgently saying, "I wouldn't turn around if I were you." But I did, and I scowled. "Alyssa."

There she stood with a hand on her hip and a smile on her face.

"What are you doing here, Alyssa?" I said.

"I'm heading over to Lacunosa Town to enter the World Cup Tournament!" Alyssa said. "I mean, I actually thought you of all people would want to enter, but I guess not. Is this your way of finally admitting how weak you are?"

I clenched my fist. "Entering would mean a chance to battle you." I said. A small smile peeked at the corners of my mouth. "A chance to kick your butt? How could I pass that up? Alright then, I'm entering!"

Alyssa smiled and twirled her hair around her finger. That's when I noticed it: her bare neck empty of any accessory. I gasped softly and felt the bump of my locket.

"Well, I look forward to seeing you there." Alyssa said. She turned around with the flip of her hair and a finger wave. "See you later, sis!"

"Your sister sure is persuasive." Cilan said.

"Yeah..."

_The Legendary Trio of Milos Island said there is only one other necklace like mine in the world. The symbols on the necklace say, 'sister', so I assumed Alyssa had the other one. But she doesn't. If Alyssa doesn't have the other necklace, who does?_

* * *

After having our delicious Bearticones, we hopped into Cynthia's jeep and spent half the car ride talking about how awesome they were.

"It tasted like I was actually in Princess Pokémon's Holiday myself!" Cilan said.

"Excuse me, Cynthia?" Iris said, leaning forward to the front.

"Yes?" Cynthia said.

Before Iris could speak, something came out from the bushes and staggered into the road. Cynthia cried out and slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a screeching halt. After unsticking ourselves from the car seats, we got out of the car to investigate. Laying on the road was a collapsed Pokémon. It looked like a miniaturized human, with long hair that resembled notes on music measures, a gem on its forehead, and a grey dress. Its breathing grew labored and faint.

"It's a Meloetta!" Cynthia said. "It's an extremely rare Pokémon... but what is it doing here?"

I reached down and picked Meloetta up. "It's hurt." I said. "It needs to be treated."

"Yes."

I looked down at Meloetta. Its eyes slowly opened and it looked at me. Suddenly, images washed over my mind. I saw what looked like a large temple and inside rested a mirror object. I saw dark clouds rolling in with crackling thunder. A sinister laughed mixed with the stormy noises as I saw the faces of Thundurus, Tornadus, and Landorus, however their eyes glowed red. The images vanished and I gasped. Meloetta closed its eyes again. Cynthia had me lay it down on a blanket and she treated its wounds with a potion.

"Meloetta is still very weak." Cynthia said. "Iris, Cilan, can you go find me some Oran berries?"

The two nodded and disappeared into the forest.

"Ash, Meloetta's running a fever. Can you go and get me some ice?" Cynthia said.

"But I don't have and Ice-type Pokémon." Ash said.

"Hm... alright. I'll go and help you. Rylee, can you watch over Meloetta?"

"Of course." I said.

* * *

After everyone left, I studied at Meloetta as it slept.

"Don't worry, Meloetta." I said. "You'll get better soon."

Meloetta opened her eyes a bit. She looked at me and smiled.

"_You... you can stop them._" she said. "_You will save me._"

"What?" I said. "What do you mean?"

Meloetta fell back asleep. I huffed a deep breath. Cynthia and Ash returned with an ice pack and laid it on Meloetta's forehead. Cynthia received an urgent call and she had to leave. Oshawott came out of its PokéBall and sniffed the air. It caught sight of Meloetta and fell in love with it.

"Your Oshawott sure has some strange tastes." I said.

Ash laughed nervously. "I'm going to get some more ice." Ash disappeared back into the forest.

"I wonder what Meloetta meant. Who's this 'them' she mentioned?" I said.

Emolga flew over to us with a Oran berry branch in her mouth. However, the wind suddenly picked up and she crashed into Oshawott. After recovering from the crash, they started fighting.

"Hey, knock it off!" I cried, separating the two. I looked back to Meloetta, but she was gone.

"What's going on?" Iris called. Ash, Iris, and Cilan walked over to us.

"Well, these two are having a spat and Meloetta's gone." I said.

As Emolga and Oshawott continued to bicker, a song pierced the air. It came from the trees about us: sweet, soft, and beautiful, calming any sort of tension in my body. I gasped as I realized that I recognized this song. I recalled the first of my meetings with my father in the Cataclysm of Dreams, hearing a voice singing through the darkness. It was Meloetta's. I sighed as goosebumps rolled down my spine and the song relaxed my muscles. I looked at Emolga and Oshawott, and they had stopped fighting and turned their heads towards the voice.

"Where did Meloetta go?" Ash said. "We have more ice for it..."

"There's no need." Cynthia said, stepping out of her car. "Meloetta is back to health. I'm sure it's back in the forest."

"That's great." Ash said. "Take care, Meloetta!"

I looked up at the trees and my face fell free of expression. "This isn't the last time we'll see Meloetta."

"Why do you sat that?" Iris said. I gave my friends a look and they understood.

"Did you... have a vision?" Cilan said, lowering his voice so Cynthia couldn't hear.

I nodded. "I think it was of the future, but I didn't recognize anything I saw." I said. "Meloetta is somehow involved. It's in danger, and it said I'm the one that can protect it."

"Whatever it may be, we'll be there to help you!" Ash said.

"Right!" Iris said.

"But I don't want you to get hurt." I said. "I would never forgive myself."

"Rylee." Cilan said. He stepped closer to me and took my hand. I flinched from his touch. "We're with you every step of the way."

"Yeah!" Iris said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "No matter how hard you try, you're not getting rid of us this easily!"

"I specialize in many of the arts of a connoisseur, but this is something knew and challenging." Cilan said. "We care about you, Rylee. I care about you. I want to be there for you. Please. Let us help you."

I blinked away the tears forming in my eyes and smiled. I looked up at Cilan and squeezed his hand.

"Thanks, guys. I know I try to push you away to try and protect you, but I know it's not the answer and I'm grateful you're always there for me, no matter how much I think I don't need it." I looked at Ash and smiled. "This journey's not over yet. The Unova League and the World Cup Tournament are still waiting for us. The future, whatever it may be, can wait. But for now, I want to enjoy the present. Lacunosa Town, here we come!"


	15. Dawn of a New Adventure

We looked out the window of the airplane. Different sea Pokémon from different regions cruised along in the water.

"Wow, Wailord sure are big!" Iris said. A couple Wailord leaped from the waters, and I could tell even from a distance they were almost as big as the plane.

"Look at all those Wingull!" Ash said, smushing his face against the glass to get a better glimpse of the dozens of Seagull Pokémon that flew beside us.

"I've seen many a flock before, but I must say, this one is impressive!" Cilan said.

"In eastern Unova, you can find many kinds of Pokémon from other regions." Cynthia said. "There's someone waiting for you there, Ash."

Ash raised his eyebrow. Another Wailord jumped out of the water and bellowed.

* * *

The plane landed in Undella Town. Ash ran down the ramp to look at something he noticed in the water, which turned out to be a Staryu.

"I like Undella Town!" Ash said. "After the Junior Cup, it's onto the Unova League!"

A suited man with a handlebar mustache approached Cynthia, who turned out to be her butler, Jervis.

"Your car awaits." Jervis said.

We followed Jervis, on the way passing by a large black truck.

"_They haven't the foggiest idea that it's been trailing them._" a voice said.

I stopped and turned, but I didn't see anyone.

"Is something wrong, Rylee?" Iris said.

"Uh, no." I said. "I don't think so. Come on, let's go."

We stopped at a white limo.

"Wow. That's some car." I said.

"If you will take your seats, please." Jervis said, opening the door. I saw something fly into the car; an intangible silhouette of a small creature. I realized Pikachu saw something too. We piled into the car and drove off.

"First Mr. Hatterly and now Cynthia? I could get used to this." I said.

"Me too!" Iris said, kicking her feet up and resting her hands behind her head.

"Undella Town is a great place for me to relax and take a nice vacation." Cynthia said. We saw some Rattata scamper by.

"I'm so excited to check Undella Town out!" Ash cried.

That's when I saw it again. The silhouette, peeking out from behind the seat Ash and Iris sat at. My eyes flared and the silhouette gained color and shape until I saw what it really was.

"Meloetta!" I cried out.

Meloetta looked right at me, realizing that I could see her, and she smiled. "_You really are a Guardian._"

"Rylee, what are you talking about?" Ash said. Meloetta came out from behind the seat and floated in front of me. She glowed and became visible to everyone else. My friends cried out in surprise. "Whoa, Meloetta? What are you doing here?"

My face fell as the mysterious voice echoed in my head. "You've been following us haven't you?" I said.

Meloetta nodded.

"Meloetta can turn invisible when it wants to!" Cilan said. "But it looks like invisibility can't get past Rylee."

I smiled a little, but the voice and my vision glued to my mind on a constant replay.

* * *

"Here we are!" Jervis said.

We opened the car doors and gaze up at a large white mansion. We walked up to the doors. When Jervis opened the front doors, Meloetta disappeared.

"Huh, where did it go?" Ash said. "Meloetta, come back! It's okay!"

I felt the faint and gentle presence of Meloetta looming beside me.

"I think Meloetta's shy." Cynthia said.

"Don't worry, Ash." I said. "Meloetta's still here. Just give it some time."

"I guess you're right." Ash said. "Let's go!"

Ash took off into the house and the rest of us trailed behind.

"Hey, Cynthia, didn't you say earlier that a friend of Ash was waiting here?" Cilan said.

Cynthia nodded. From somewhere in the house, we heard Ash scream.

"I think he found them." I said.

We walked into the living room and saw a girl standing there and talking to ash. She had dark teal hair with a white hat, a black tank top, pink skirt, pink scarf, and pink boots with black socks underneath.

"Hey, guys, meet my friend Dawn!" Ash said.

"Hi! You guys are Iris and Cilan, right? Professor Oak told me all about you!" Dawn turned to me. "I don't believe me told me about you."

"My name is Rylee." I said. I looked at the Piplup standing on the coffee table. "Your Piplup is adorable!"

Piplup stood triumphantly and we laughed.

"If I may, I'd like to evaluate you and Piplup." Cilan said.

"Of course! That sounds cool! Judging from that, you must be a connoisseur!"

Cilan nodded. Suddenly, Piplup began to chatter and jump on the table. It pointed to a spot behind Ash and Dawn.

"What is it, Piplup?" Dawn said. I felt Meloetta's presence and smiled.

"I think Meloetta knew Dawn and Piplup were here, so that's why it turned invisible." Iris said.

"Ash, what's up? What's a Meloetta?"

"We'll introduce you." Ash said. "It's okay, Dawn's a friend! You can come out!"

Meloetta lingered at my side. She turned to me and I nodded.

"It's okay. You're safe here." I said. But Meloetta back away and held my shoulder.

"Did I do something wrong?" Dawn said. "I sure hope not."

"No, it's not your fault." I said. "Meloetta's really shy, and it may take a while for her to get used to you."

"Hey, I know!" Ash said. "I want to show you my Pokémon!"

"That's a great idea!" Dawn said. "I'd love to!"

* * *

We went to the backyard, home to Cynthia's own battlefield. We brought out all our Pokémon for Dawn and Meloetta to meet. Dawn brought out her Pokémon as well: Mamoswine, Togekiss, Typhlosion, Pachirisu, and Buneary.

"Hey, Dawn, how about we have a battle?" Ash said.

"Okay. But aren't you entering the Junior Cup World Tournament?" Dawn said.

"We all are." Cilan said. "Cynthia's letting us stay here."

I noticed Mamoswine looked puzzled as it glanced frantically around the are.

"Well, now you've got one more guest!" Dawn said. "I'm entering too!"

"Awesome!" Ash said.

Suddenly, Mamoswine cried out, along with Piplup, Pikachu, and Buneary.

"What, Piplup?" Dawn said.

"I think Meloetta must be close by." Ash said. "Come on out, please! I want you to meet Dawn!"

Hesitantly, Meloetta appeared in front of Dawn. She recoiled in surprise, and when she recovered, she leaned in curiously.

"A Pokémon?" she said. Meloetta flew back behind Ash.

"It's all right, Meloetta." I said. "Dawn's a friend."

Dawn peeked out from behind Ash's shoulder.

"It's nice to meet you!" Dawn said. Meloetta smiled and waved. She joined the other Pokémon and my friends and I told Dawn about her. "Wow, so Meloetta's a mythical Pokémon?"

"Yeah." I said. "It followed us all the way from western Unova."

"Wow! How come?"

"Rylee believes Meloetta's in danger, so it's been following us around because it knows we're friendly. I guess it trusts us." Iris said.

"Danger? Danger from what?"

I shook my head. "I don't know... Meloetta believes I can help her. It's only a matter of time before we find out what all of this is."

We watched Meloetta mingle with all the Pokémon when Piplup and Oshawott broke into a fight over her. Dawn and Ash broke the two up.

Afterwards, Cilan and Dawn had a Pokémon battle, but it was put on hold when Meloetta came flying in, amazed by the dazzling effects created throughout the battle.

"Battles sure are exciting, huh?" Ash said to Meloetta. "When we enter the Junior Cup, I hope you'll cheer for us!"

Meloetta giggled and nodded. Suddenly, she stopped and turned to looked at the bushes.

"_They're here._" Meloetta whimpered.

"What? Who's here?" I said.

Meloetta held onto my shoulder and turned invisible.

"Rylee, what's wrong?" Iris said.

"I don't know." I said. "I think Meloetta saw something... or someone. Let's head inside."

We stood on the balcony as the sun began to set.

"Iris, I believe I'm battling you next." Dawn said.

"Great!" Iris said.

"Now, now." Cilan said. "My battle with Dawn still hasn't been decided yet!"

"Well, _I_ decide it's time to end that battle and move on to mine!"

"What about me?" Ash said.

"You're after Iris." Dawn said. Ash groaned in protest.

"Wow, when I started traveling with you guys, none of you suggested a Pokémon battle." I said, rolling my eyes.

The air filled with Meloetta's voice. We looked to see her sitting on a rock jutting out of the ocean. She held her hands together, facing towards the sea, and sang. The music was different than the last time, but just as beautiful. Although, something about this song made me feel uneasy...


	16. A Rocky Vacation

Ash filled the next few days with non-stop training. The battlefield grew exhausted, so he moved to the beach. One morning, as we watched him train Pikachu and Oshawott, Piplup and Dawn came down the steps to the beach shore.

"You know, all this training is pretty boring." she said. "I'm up for some major R and R!"

"That sounds wonderful!" Iris said, relieved. "Watching all this battling is making me exhausted!"

"Hold on!" Ash said. "We need to train so we can be ready for the Junior Cup!"

"Ash, you are such a party pooper. Listen, nearby is a deserted resort. It's a perfect place to relax!" Dawn said. "I even asked Jervis, and he said there's a special Onix that lives there."

"Special Onix?!" Ash said. "Did he say what it is that makes it so special?"

"No... but how are you going to find out if you spend all your time training?" Dawn said, raising a teasing eyebrow.

"No training today! I want to see that special Onix!"

"That's one way to do it." I said.

"Alright, it's settled! Let's go!" Dawn said.

* * *

Jervis took us to the island on Cynthia's cruiser, leaving us with a warning to be careful. A Krabby and Kingler came along and started messing around with Oshawott and Piplup, who didn't seem to appreciate their tails getting caught in their pinchers.

"How about you guys play on the beach while I make some lunch?" Cilan said.

"Okay!" Iris, Ash, and Dawn said.

A few minutes later, they came out in their bathing suits and made a beeline for the ocean with our Pokémon trailing behind. I sat down on a rock nearby Cilan and his cooking station. I watched him work his magic, oblivious to the time that passed by. What was it, ten minutes? Fifteen? As I watched, Cilan glanced up and at me.

I gulped. _Oops. Busted._

"Aren't you going to join the others?" he said.

"Um..." I glanced at the ocean like the Boogeyman waited for me there. I looked back at Cilan. "See, ever since the incident with Palpitoad, I feel it best that I won't go anywhere near bodies of water."

Cilan looked at me with a serious yet thoughtful look. "Right." he said. He returned to his cooking.

I slowly slid down from my rock spot and walked over to him.

"You know," I said, shyly holding my hands behind my back. "I never got to verbally thank you for what you did."

"It was nothing." Cilan said, directing all his attention on stirring together the giant pot of soup in front of him. "Besides, we don't need anyone drowning on our journey."

I smiled a little. I reached out and placed my hand over Cilan's. He stopped stirring and paused for a moment before lifting his head.

"Thank you, Cilan."

The surprise on his face lasted a few more moments before it melted into a smile. He turned his hand over so he held mine. We stared at each other and something strange bubbled in my stomach.

"Hey, since you're kind of just doing nothing, how about you help me with cooking?" Cilan said.

"Are you sure? I'm afraid I might ruin your masterpiece." I said.

Cilan laughed. "I insist."

Our hands separated, leaving mine cold and empty.

* * *

Once we finished eating, we packed up and headed to the Onix cave. Ash stomped inside and screamed when a flock of Woobat scurried past him.

"What a kid!" Dawn and Iris giggled as they passed on.

"Looks like those two are finding things in common." I said.

We walked down the wide cavern.

"I can't believe how big this cave is!" Cilan said.

"It's the perfect size for an Onix." Ash said.

"Are you saying that Onix are actually this big?"

"Well, sure. They could even grow bigger than _this_!" I said. "My mom used to tell me stories of how she once saw an Onix that could wrap itself around an entire city!"

"Now _that_ seems a little farfetched." Cilan said.

"Well, I choose to believe it. Just like I believe in the special Onix that lives here."

"Well, what are we going to do if we run into an Onix here?!" Iris said.

"Easy! Run real fast!" Dawn said, laughing nervously.

"That's not funny!" Iris whimpered.

Suddenly, the cave started to rumble. Pebbles from the ceiling fell down on us. The ground made quick, rhythmic thuds that seemed to be heading right for us. We looked down the cave to see a giant Onix heading for us. We screamed.

"This is the part where we RUN REAL FAST!" Dawn cried.

We turned around and bolted down the path with the Onix right behind. Two more Onix blocked our path and I heard something crack above us. I looked up to see a giant boulder beginning to break from the ceiling. I gasped.

"Look out!" I cried.

I thrust my hands to the sides and used Protect to catapult Iris, Dawn, and Axew one direction and Ash, Cilan, Pikachu, Piplup, Oshawott, Meloetta, and Pansage in the other. I looked up again just in time to let out a scream as the boulder was about to crash down on me.

* * *

~IRIS~

"Iris, wake up!" Dawn said, shaking me vigorously. I opened my eyes to see her and Axew hovering over me.

"What happened?" I said, sitting up.

"We're outside, but the boys and the other Pokémon are gone. It was weird. I felt this giant barrier that seemed to push us out of the cave." Dawn said.

"A barrier...?" I said. I gasped. _Rylee._ She must have used her powers to get us out. Where was she? I stood up and dusted myself off.

"Should we go back in there?" Dawn said.

"What if there's an Onix in there waiting for us?" I said. "Let's head back to the beach and wait for the others."

* * *

~ASH~

"That was too close for comfort." I groaned, rolling off the rock I landed on. "What happened? Where are the girls?"

"We must've gotten separated from them." Cilan said, wiping dirt off his face with a handkerchief.

"Let's head back in the cave and look for them." I said.

"But it's dangerous! That cave seems to be a nest for Onix!"

"That's great, right? We _are _looking for that special Onix after all."

"Ash, I get that you're excited, but that cave is like a maze and it's too dangerous!" Cilan said. "Let's go back to the beach and plan a strategy. Maybe everyone else is back there already waiting for us."

"Okay." I grumbled.

* * *

~RYLEE~

The ground underneath me was moving. I grunted and opened my eyes to see _I_ was the one moving. I looked up and gulped when I saw the back of an Onix. I trailed down from its head to where I was. Why am I riding on an Onix?

I dared to open my mouth. "Excuse me? Where are you taking me?"

The Onix turned its head and glared at me before focusing on the path again.

_Rude._ I looked behind me and all around. _I hope everyone made it out of the cave._

Suddenly, the Onix flicked its tail sideways and I yelped as I tumbled to the ground.

"Hey-!" I said as the Onix continued down the path.

"_Here's your stop._" the Onix grunted.

I scrambled to my feet and brushed the dirt off my clothes, mumbling under my breath. I looked around to see darkness and rocks. I huffed a frustrated breath of air.

"Well, I guess all there is now is to look for the others." I said to myself.

When I took a step, a low growl rumbled behind me. I froze and slowly turned around to see a giant pair of eyes staring at me. I gulped.

"Um... hello?"

* * *

~IRIS~

"I'm never going into another cave again!" I cried.

The roar of the Onix chasing us replenished the adrenaline rushing throughout my body. We ran behind a rock and bumped into Ash, Cilan, and the other Pokémon.

"Iris! There you are!" Cilan said.

"Thank goodness you're okay!" Dawn said. She took account of the people here and her face fell. "Where's Rylee?"

"Do you think she's still in the cave?" Ash said.

The roar of Onix snapped us back into reality. We screamed and ran as an Onix rammed into the rock we hid behind. We ran into a dead end. Piplup and Oshawott attacked the Onix with Bubblebeam and Water Gun. Oshawott's move strengthened into Hydro Pump, but it wasn't strong enough against all the Onix.

"What'll we do?!" I said.

"I know!" Ash said. "Meloetta, sing your song!"

Meloetta nodded and began to sing. The Onix stared at Meloetta in silence, but it didn't work. The Onix advanced and we clung to each other in fear. A single Onix roar echoed through the chasm.

"Huh?" we looked around to see the Onix frozen in place and looking up. We followed their gaze.

"HEY!" a voice shouted.

"That sounds like..." Dawn said.

A pile of olive-green rocks trembled and rose, revealing an Onix. It looked down at us over the edge of a cliff.

"That's a shiny Onix!" Ash said.

The shiny Onix lifted its tail to show Rylee standing on it.

"Rylee!" we all said.

Rylee smiled and waved. She turned to the shiny Onix and said something as she pointed to us. The shiny Onix raised its head and let out another roar. The regular Onix paused for a few moments before turning around and retreated back to the cave. Rylee turned to the shiny Onix.

"Thank you." I heard her say.

The shiny Onix nodded at her. Rylee turned to us and jumped off the cliff. She somersaulted in the air and landed crouched on her feet. She straightened and smiled at us.

"Rylee, that was incredible!" Cilan said. "What happened to you?"

"Back at the cave, when we were surrounded by all those Onix, I got you all out before a giant boulder could crush you. I blacked out and woke up on the back of an Onix." Rylee said. "It unexpectedly dropped me off at the heart of the cave, where the shiny Onix slept. I tried to explain my situation, but it didn't listen and fled. I chased after it until we came here, and when it heard Meloetta's song, it calmed down and was willing to help."

Meloetta flew over and hugged her cheek.

* * *

~RYLEE~

We returned to the beach and got a ride back across the sea from Jervis. As we rode, a beautiful rainbow shimmered above us, almost as beautiful as Meloetta's song piercing the air. She sung her second song. Again, something about it made me feel uneasy. Almost foreboding.


	17. A Fiery Force to Reckon With

I stood outside the bathroom, leaning against the door frame and watching Dawn furiously brush and blow-dry her hair.

"Come on, Dawn." I said, crossing my arms. "You've been in there for half an hour. I have important business I need to take care of!"

"But I just don't know what to do with my hair!" Dawn cried. "It almost acts like it has a mind of its own!"

"Why not just leave it that way it is?" I said.

"Yeah. You go through the same routine day after day!" Iris said through a yawn.

Dawn gasped like we offended her. "A Coordinator's gotta look her best _all_ the time!" she said.

"Breakfast time, guys!" Ash said.

"We might be a little late!" I said. "...Again."

Suddenly, the power went out.

"Huh?" Dawn said, flicking the blow-dryer's power switch on and off. "What happened?"

"Maybe Cynthia finally got tired of you hogging the bathroom every morning." I said. Iris giggled.

"Haha, very funny." Dawn rolled her eyes. She set the blow dryer down and we walked to the kitchen.

"Nothing seems to be working." Cilan said, testing out a blender.

"I believe we're experiencing a power outage." Jervis said.

"Morning! Officer Jenny!" a voice called from outside. We went to the front door to greet her. "The blackout we're experiencing was caused by a Dragonite that attacked the power plant."

"A Dragonite?" Iris said.

"At least that explains why there's no power." Dawn said.

"So the Dragonite just attacked the power plant?" I said, crossing my arms. "That can't be right."

"Is it well known?" Ash said.

"Well, it has been known for challenging and Pokémon that it happens to meet." Jervis said.

"That Dragonite sounds like it has a real taste for danger." Cilan said.

"It has been of great concern to us. The trouble it's caused is formidable."

Iris scowled. "I don't believe it!" she said. "I don't care if you call it rogue or not, but I agree with Rylee. No Dragonite would attack a power plant for no reason!"

"But Iris, you heard what Officer Jenny said. Remember, it's an ongoing blackout!"

"There's no such thing as a bad Pokémon." I said. "There must be a reason behind this."

"But if you consider..." Cilan said.

"Let's go check it out ourselves!" Iris said.

"Right!" Iris and I took off down the path, followed by everyone else.

* * *

We ran to the power plant, where Officer Jenny, two workers, and some Magnemites stood outside an air vent.

"So the Dragonite's in there?" Ash said.

"Yes, but it trapped itself in a room and the only way to get in is through this air vent." Officer Jenny said.

"Let us help you." Iris said. "Give me a reason to talk to Dragonite, please!"

"Hold on. You want to _talk_ to it?"

"Iris is training to become a Dragon Master. I know she can do it!" Ash said.

"I guess we have no other option..." Officer Jenny said. "Alright, good luck to you. But be careful!"

Iris nodded and turned to me. "Rylee, I want you to come with me."

"I don't know if I'll be able to fit in that vent." I said. "And I can't... you know... transform."

"_Let me help._" Meloetta floated in front of me. "_I can turn you invisible so you can go inside._"

"Okay, thanks."

Iris and some Magnemites went into the vent, along with Ash and Dawn. Meloetta held onto my shoulder and we both went invisible. I phased through the wall. I gulped when I saw the Dragonite asleep on the ground. Meloetta whimpered.

"Go back to Cilan." I said. "I'll be okay."

Meloetta nodded and let go of me. I turned visible again and Meloetta disappeared behind the wall.

"Rylee!" I looked up and saw Ash, Iris, and Dawn peeking their heads through the air vent.

"Look, its wing is injured." Dawn said. "Maybe when the Magnemite attacked it..."

"Hard to tell." Iris said. "Can you help it, Rylee?"

"I'll try." I said.

Iris, Dawn, and Ash jumped out of the air vent and into the room. Suddenly, the Dragonite woke, stood up, and roared.

"Relax, Dragonite. We want to help you." I said, raising my hands calmly. "You're hurt, and I can heal you."

Dragonite growled. "_I don't need your help!_"

"You shouldn't be here!" Dawn said, clutching Piplup closer to her. "It's causing a lot of trouble, understand?"

"That wound..." Iris said quietly beside me. "It couldn't have been caused by the Magnemite."

"Dragonite, please, tell us why you came here." I said.

"_LEAVE ME ALONE!_" Dragonite roared. His mouth filled with fire.

"Iris!" I cried, shoving her behind me. Oshawott and Piplup countered with Hydro Pump and Bubblebeam. Dragonite clenched his fist as lightning consumed it.

"Get away!" Ash cried.

I shot my hand out and a shield of Protect collided with the ThunderPunch. "Knock it off, Dragonite!" I said.

Dragonite shot another wave of Flamethrower at us. We jumped out of the way and the fire melted a giant hole in the wall.

"Dragonite, you've got to stop!" Iris said.

"_GO AWAY!_"

Meloetta flew in through the air vent and began to sing. Dragonite stopped and looked at Meloetta.

"Alright, Meloetta!" Ash said.

"Great timing." I said.

When Meloetta finished singing, Dragonite winced as he fell to his knee.

"Why don't we use Officer Jenny's PokéBall to get Dragonite out?" Dawn said.

"Yeah..." Ash said. The two left the room through the giant hole in the wall. "Come on, guys!"

"No. I'm staying with Dragonite." I said.

Suddenly, Dragonite roared, sending a rogue column of Flamethrower into the ceiling.

"Look out!" I cried.

Iris, Piplup, and Oshawott jumped out of the way as a pile of rocks came down and clogged up the hole.

"Iris! Rylee!" Ash's muffled voice called from the other side.

"We're fine!" I said.

"We're going to get Officer Jenny!" Dawn said.

"Wait!" But the footsteps faded. I sighed. Iris and I knelt down next to Dragonite.

"I can see why everyone calls you a rogue, but still..." Iris said. "Did you really come here to cause trouble?"

"I don't believe it." I said. "Don't worry, Dragonite. We won't get anything bad happen to you."

Piplup and Oshawott tried to break the blockade of debris, but to no avail.

"Iris! Rylee!" Ash's voice returned. "A bunch of trainers are on their way now! They're all gonna help Officer Jenny capture Dragonite by force!"

"What?! No!" Iris cried. "I won't let them drag it out!"

"I tried to stop her, but she wouldn't listen to a thing I said! I'm sorry...

Iris and I looked at Dragonite. We reached over and stroked his head. Images flushed into my mind. I saw a flock of Pidove scurrying around in the sky. A Hydreigon summoned a Flash Cannon and aimed it at the Pidove flock, but Dragonite took the hit instead. I saw it flying through the air, weak and tired. It came across the power plant and crashed into one of the antennae. The images disappeared.

"You were protecting a Pidove flock." Iris said. "Now I get it..."

"Iris, you saw that too?" I said.

Iris nodded and chuckled. "I guess now I know how you feel." She stood up and walked to the hole. "Dragonite didn't come here to destroy anything! Help us, Ash! You've got to find proof!"

* * *

We sat around Dragonite in silence. I tried to heal Dragonite, but he would give me a nasty glare and a growl. It's better than a ThunderPunch to the face, but I didn't risk it.

"Ash and the others will be back soon." Iris said. "I promise I'll protect you until they get here."

"Me too." I said.

Suddenly, the hole blocked with ice from an earlier Dragonite lash out shook violently. I heard the cry of a Gurdurr as it launched its metal beam into the blockade. The top broke off with ease. Iris and I jumped to our feet.

"Darmanitan, Super Power!"

Darmanitan flexed its muscles and lifted the rest of the debris with ease. It tossed it aside. Officer Jenny and four trainers entered the room with their Pokémon: Ferrothorn, Darmanitan, Gurdurr, Magmortar, and Garbodor.

"Everyone okay?" Officer Jenny said. Dragon opened his eyes, growled, and tried to sit up. Officer Jenny held out her hand. "No resistance. Let's all leave here peacefully."

"Now you wait! Dragonite didn't mean to destroy anything!" Iris said. "It accidentally fell!"

Dragonite stood up abruptly, knocking Iris to the ground. Officer Jenny gasped as flames ignited in Dragonite's mouth.

"Ferrothorn, use Flash Cannon!"

"Garbodor, Gunk Shot, go!"

"Darmanitan, use Flamethrower!"

"Magmortar, use Hyper Beam!"

"Gurdurr, Stone Edge!"

Their attacks deflected Dragonite's Flamethrower. Dragonite winced and fell to his knee.

"Stop it! You're making things worse!" I said.

"This is wrong! Dragonite only landed here because it was hurt! It didn't mean to cause any trouble for anybody at all! Really!" Iris said, returning to my side.

"Get back! It's dangerous!" Officer Jenny said.

Iris and I ran to Dragonite as it began to stand.

"Don't move. You're hurt." I said, placing a hand on his arm.

"Step away from there!" Officer Jenny said. "Look, Dragonite can't be allowed to go free where it can cause even more damage than it has. Now out of the way, immediately!"

Dragonite growled.

"NO!" Iris and I cried. We stepped in front of Dragonite.

Iris stretched her arms out to the sides. "Attack Dragonite, and you attack me!"

"And I'm not going down without a fight!" I said. My fingers twitched, but I pushed away the urge to shower these people in AncientPower.

"_Iris..._" Piplup said.

"_Rylee, come on."_ Oshawott said. I glared at them and shook my head.

"Of course damaging the power plant was an awful thing, but it didn't do it on purpose!" Iris said. "Dragonite's not a bad Pokémon! There _are_ no bad Pokémon!"

The trainers and Officer Jenny stared at us in disbelief.

"_What is... this?_" Dragonite said. "_Why are you..._"

"Officer Jenny!" Ash, Cilan, and Dawn ran into the room.

"Please look at this!" Dawn said.

Cilan took out a security camera and pressed the play button, showing the exact same images Iris and I saw in Dragonite's vision. "This video was taken from a surveillance camera in the forest." Cilan said. "You can clearly see the Dragonite was injured while trying to protect a flock of Pidove!"

Jenny gasped. "Then... it's all true."

Dragonite roared.

"Iris! Rylee!" Ash said.

Iris and I turned around and stepped in front of Dragonite. He looked between us with a puzzled expression.

"Enough! Please stop, Dragonite!" Iris said.

"It's all right." I said. "Why don't we go?"

Iris held her arms out to Dragonite. He took a step forward, then let out a groan and collapsed to the ground.

"Dragonite!" Iris cried. "Rylee, do something, please!"

I nodded and knelt next to Dragonite. "I'm going to heal you whether you want it or not." I said quietly. I held my hands together in front of me. Warmth spread from my chest to my fingertips as a Heal Pulse formed in my hands in a ball of shimmering pink and purple. I took the orb and pressed it against Dragonite's wound. He tensed for a few seconds, but soon relaxed once he absorbed the healing power. His wound had healed a little.

"There." I said, stroking his back. "I helped a little bit, but we need to get you to a Pokémon Center."

Dragonite uttered a strange noise, somewhere between a purr and a growl.

"_Thank... you._" he said.

* * *

We watched Nurse Joy take care of Dragonite and dress the wound on his wing.

"We received a message from the power plant." Officer Jenny said. "Everything is back up and running."

"At least Dawn will be able to do her hair tomorrow." I chuckled.

"So, what are you gonna do with Dragonite?" Iris said. "You're not gonna arrest it, are you?"

"Well, since what happened was an accident, I think we'll overlook it this time." Officer Jenny said.

Iris and I sighed in relief.

* * *

We stood outside the Pokémon Center with Dragonite.

"You saved a whole Pidove flock. That was so brave of you!" Iris said. "Just how a Dragon-type should be."

Dragonite rolled his eyes.

"All right, Mr. Grumpy Pants, you're free to go!" I said. "Just try not to get into anymore trouble, okay?"

Dragonite lifted its wings and flew up into the air. He suddenly stopped and looked back at us.

"What's wrong?" Iris said.

Dragonite turned away from us, then back again and purred curiously.

"Oh!" Cilan said. "I think Dragonite wants to come with you, Iris!"

"Huh?" Iris said. "Dragonite, is that true?"

Dragonite growled in frustration, then let out a powerful roar. We covered our ears.

"Okay, deal!" Iris said. She fished out an empty PokéBall. "Go, PokéBall!"

Iris threw the PokéBall at Dragonite. After wiggling on the ground three times, it clicked and sealed. Iris picked up the PokéBall.

"All right!" she beamed.

"Now you have another Dragon-type Pokémon." I said.

"I GET IT!" Dawn cried.

"Why are you yelling?!"

"So this is how you become a Dragon Master! I just figured it out!"

"Now that you've got Dragonite, we'll just have to train super hard and win that Junior Cup!" Ash said.


	18. The Junior Cup: Rylee vs Alyssa

"Alllll right!" Ash cried, pumping his fists in the air. "The Junior Cup! I am so psyched!"

Fireworks went off in the sky. Trainers from all over the Unova region scrambled around to get registered.

"Impressive." I said.

"Let's do our best!" Ash said.

"I know I will!" Iris said.

Meloetta held onto my shoulder. "Meloetta, will you cheer for us?" Ash said. Meloetta smiled and nodded. We made our way to the stadium.

"It's great to see so many people here!" Iris said.

"You bet!" Ash said.

"My stars, Cynthia!" a voice cooed. "You're as beautiful as I've ever seen you!"

"Hey, over there!" Ash said. "It's Cynthia and Alder!"

Cynthia stood firmly with her arms crossed in front of her chest as a man with hair similar to Iris's wearing a poncho leaned against his arm that was planted on a tree."Come on, let's say we forget the tournament and grab some lunch?" Alder said.

"I think you'll be dining alone, as usual." Cynthia said.

Alder let out a hearty laugh. "You're such a charmer!"

"So that's Alder, the Unova League Champion?" Dawn said.

"Yep... that's him." Iris said, rolling her eyes.

"Hey, Alder-!" Ash said, but Trip approached Alder.

"Haven't changed a bit, have you?" Trip scowled.

"Who is he, Alder?" Cynthia said.

"Let's see, uh..." Alder said. "Gimme a hint?"

"The name's Trip." Trip said.

"Of course! Good to see you, Tristan!"

"Trip, not Tristan." Trip hissed.

"So, you're entering the Junior Cup too?" Ash said.

"Of course. Because the winner gets to battle against Alder. It's basic stuff." Trip turned to Alder and deepened his scowl. "Mark my words, I guarantee you I'm gonna win this tournament. And then win when I battle you. That way, everyone will know that you being a Unova Champion is so yesterday." Trip turned around and headed to the stadium.

"Such determination." I said, sweat-dropping.

"Same old, same old." Iris grumbled.

"Well, see you later." Cynthia said, walking away.

"But Cynthia! What about our date?!" Alder cried, chasing after her.

"That Alder sure is colorful." Dawn said.

"Sure is..." Iris said.

"A big head with big hair..." a voice said.

"Ah! It can't be!" Iris turned around and smirked and Georgia. "You still have no taste in hairstyles, though as a little kid, you're an expert."

"FUN-NY!" Georgia growled. "Look, you better not lose before we battle! Wimpy Dragon Masters battling this Dragon Buster don't stand a chance!"

"How many times do I have to tell you _I'm not a Dragon Master yet_?!"

"What's the difference?! Even if you're a Dragon DOOFUS, I'm gonna make that big hair of yours droop in defeat." Georgia walked away with her hands on her hips. Iris growled.

"I think we should get inside before we run into-" I said.

"Into who, Rylee?" a blood-boiling voice said.

"Stop, vite!" another voice cried.

I sighed and turned around as Alyssa and Burgundy stepped in our way.

"Alyssa..." I said.

"Burgundy." Cilan said at the same time.

"This Pokémon Connoisseuse is gonna beat the bow tie off of you!" Burgundy cried, shoving an accusing finger in Cilan's face.

"Well, then I look forward to it." Cilan offered his hand to Burgundy, but she turned away and crossed her arms.

"Hmph! I hate when you pretend to be nice!"

"I think it's adorable." Alyssa said. She shoved Burgundy aside and shook Cilan's hand. I could feel the smoke fuming from my ears. "I look forward to battling you, Cilan. You too, Rylee."

I growled and my eyes flared up.

"I think we should head inside." Cilan said, placing his hands on my shoulders and guiding me away. "Iris, Ash, Dawn, come on!"

"There sure are a lot of pain in the necks here..." Dawn said.

"You don't know the half of it." Iris said.

* * *

"There sure are a lot of people here." I said, glancing down the line.

"Everyone seems so confident!" Iris said.

"I can't wait to win this tournament and battle Alder!" Ash cried.

We watched the Exhibition match between Cynthia and Caitlin, one of the Unova Elite Four. I found myself chuckling at times; they reminded me of me and Alyssa. The ten minutes ended and the match closed with a draw.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please turn your attention to the screen!" Freddy "the Scoop" said.

The matches were paired. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw my opponent was a trainer I didn't know. The first match was soon over, and me, Trip, Cilan, Ash, Alyssa, Dawn, and Iris made it to the next round. Iris barely managed to win because Dragonite refused to listen to Iris. After we healed our Pokémon, it was time for the second round. I took a deep breath as the pairings were made. Freddy announced every pairing.

"Our last match will be Rylee against Alyssa!"

My face paled when I saw our faces floating together on the screen. I dared a glance at Alyssa, who stared at the screen with a smug smile on her face.

"Rylee? You okay?" Iris said.

"I think I'm gonna be sick..." I said, laying a hand on my stomach.

"You'll do just fine."

"Really? Can you foresee the future too?" Iris laughed nervously. As each battle ended, the dread inside me intensified.

"And now, it's time for our last match, Rylee versus Alyssa!"

At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to duct tape Freddy's mouth shut.

"Good luck, Rylee!" Iris said.

"I know you'll be great!" Cilan said.

"Thanks..." I said, taking a deep breath. Alyssa and I stepped on opposite sides of the battlefield.

"Ready to lose?" Alyssa said.

"Are you done with your pep talk?" I said.

Alyssa scowled. "Okay, then. I see how it is." We pulled out our PokéBalls. "Go, Milotic!"

"Let's do this, Articuno!"

We threw our PokéBalls into the air and Milotic and Articuno came out.

"Aha! You do have Articuno!" Alyssa said. "Let's see if Dad's prized Pokémon made the right choice of choosing you."

"Battle BEGIN!" the referee cried.

"This move's gonna win! Milotic, Hidden Power!"

Milotic attacked, sending orbs of green power at Articuno.

"Dodge and use Ice Beam!"

Articuno jumped out of the way and shot an Ice Beam at Milotic. It hit and its body froze.

"How do you like that?" I laughed.

"This isn't over!" Alyssa said. "Milotic, use Dragon Tail to break the ice off!"

Milotic's tail glowed blue. With a cry, it swung its tail around and broke the ice off. I gasped.

"Now, Hydro Pump!"

Gallons of water spewed from Milotic's mouth and crashed into Articuno. She flew back into the wall.

"Wrap it up!"

Milotic shot forward and wrapped around Articuno like an anaconda and steadily tightened its hold.

"Articuno!"

Tears pricked my eyes. _No, please. I can't lose._

As Articuno struggled to move or breathe, she looked over at me. There was a glint in her eyes. I realized her message and gasped.

_"Articuno... I couldn't."_

_"It's okay. I won't mind."_

I gulped down the lump forming in my throat, clenching and unclenching my fists.

"Articuno... Shadow Chill."

Articuno's eyes glowed red. She let out a cry and opened her mouth. Alyssa gasped as the ice power forming in Articuno's mouth turned blackish-purple.

"What... is that?" she said. "Milotic, let go and get away!"

She only made it worse. As Milotic let go, Articuno was able to breathe and the ice power build.

"NOW!" Articuno roared as the dark purple ice beam shot from her mouth and at Milotic. In a half-second, dark ice covered its body. Dark power coiled from the ice.

"Milotic!"

"Now, use Steel Wing!"

Articuno flew up into the sky. As it dove down, its wings turned silver. It zoomed down and smashed into Milotic. The frozen Milotic went flying and it crashed into the wall, creating clouds of dust. When the dust subsided, Milotic slumped against the wall, unconscious. Alyssa gasped.

"Milotic is unable to battle!" the referee said. "Which means that Articuno and Rylee are the winners!"

The crowds roared, but I could distinctly hear my friends above the noise. I sighed in happy relief and I fell back on my butt. Articuno slowly walked forward and nuzzled her forehead against mine. I smiled and stroked her soft feathers.

"We did it." I said. "Thank you, Articuno."

Articuno purred and helped me to stand. We walked back to the stadium.

"That was awesome!" Ash cried. "Your Articuno is SO COOL!"

I laughed. "Thanks."

"Now I'm afraid to battle you!" Iris said. "What was that move? Shadow Chill?"

I returned Articuno back to her PokéBall and clipped it back onto my necklace. "It's a very dark and special move. You see, Articuno was once captured and raised by really bad people. When my dad found her, he stole her from those people, but the damage had already been done. Her heart was closed off, and she's what's called a Shadow Pokémon. Shadow Chill is her signature move, but once her heart is purified, she will return to normal." I touched Articuno's PokéBall. "I wonder if she'll ever be okay."

"You handled yourself well, Rylee." Cilan said. "You and Articuno were in perfect sync! You must let me do an evaluation sometime!"

"I'll take you up on that offer."

"Not bad, Rylee." I turned to see Alyssa walking towards us.

"Wow, you just kind of complimented me." I said. "I'm speechless."

Alyssa chuckled as she passed by us. "The next time I battle you, I'm gonna win. Until then, see ya later, sis." She disappeared around the corner.


	19. Our Canary Has Stopped Singing

The tournament came to an end. Trip won, but even though his strategy against the other trainers was spot-on, it wasn't good enough against Alder. Iris and I watched Cilan and Ash battle on Cynthia's battlefield. As we did, Meloetta became excited and once against stepped onto the battlefield, bringing the battle to a halt. She sung her Relic Song and transformed into her Pirouette Form.

"I think Meloetta wants to battle you, Oshawott." Cilan said.

"_What?! But..._" Oshawott said.

"_Come on!_" Meloetta said.

Oshawott turned around, blushing as red as a beet.

"How cute! Oshawott's too shy!" Iris giggled.

"_Oh, brother..._" Pikachu mumbled.

"Come on, Oshawott. We're training!" Ash said, but Oshawott wouldn't budge. Ash sighed and pulled out its PokéBall. "All right then, return."

"I guess Oshawott's heart won't let it attack." Cilan said, returning Pansage to its PokéBall.

Meloetta planted her hands on her hips. "_Come on, I want to battle!_" Meloetta said.

Ash sent out Krookodile. "Krookodile, use Dragon Claw!"

Krookodile ran forward, its claw raised and glowing blue. Suddenly, a Flash Cannon struck the ground between Meloetta and Krookodile. A Golurk landed in front of Meloetta. Pikachu ran forward and crouched down, sparks flying from his cheeks.

"Are you all right, Meloetta?" a man with teal hair wearing aviator goggles ran towards Meloetta. She squealed in delight and leaped into the man's arms. His glare found Ash and he scowled. "Villain! You _stole_ Meloetta!"

"Get your facts straight! We didn't steal anything!" I cried, stepping beside Pikachu.

"Enough lies! Golurk, Flash Cannon!"

"_NO!_" Meloetta cried, flying in front of me with her arms stretched to the sides.

"I'm not your enemy." Ash said. "You've gotta believe me!"

"_Please, don't hurt them!_" Meloetta pleaded. The man gasped.

* * *

"I'm sorry. Please forgive my foolishness." the man said, whose name was Ridley.

"Do you begin every conversation with attacking someone?" I said. "Why did you call us villains?"

"Deep within a forest in Unova, Meloetta and I lived in hiding. Then, one day, we were discovered, and while I wasn't looking, Meloetta was captured by villains. They must've been after its immense power. I'm sure of it." Ridley said. "I had no one to blame but myself. And that's why we've been looking for Meloetta all this time."

Meloetta flew over and hugged Ridley's cheek.

"Does that mean Meloetta's your Pokémon?" Iris said.

"No, Meloetta belongs to no one. As a mythical Pokémon of Unova, everybody knows the stories about Meloetta." Ridley said. "In fact, we've been referred to as Protectors since ancient times. Protectors have the ability to detect if Meloetta's nearby. That's how I was able to find you. But we can't relax. I'm quite certain the villains are still searching for Meloetta."

Suddenly, Meloetta let out a cry. We saw a surveillance camera hovering in the window.

"Oh, no! The villains! They're here!" Ridley said. "Meloetta, let's go. We can't stay here."

"But where are you going?" Ash said.

"My friends have already found a place for us."

As we ran outside, a thick layer of Haze surrounded us.

"We've gotta get Meloetta out of here, fast." Ridley said to Golurk as he sat on its shoulder.

A giant rock came flying through the Haze and smacked into Golurk, sending Ridley and Meloetta falling to the ground. The boulder turned into a Golem. A Hyper Beam shot through the air.

"Flash Cannon!" Golurk attacked while I used my own Hyper Beam. A Rhydon stepped beside Golem. Two Team Rocket grunts came into view, chuckling sinisterly. They wore black uniforms rather than the white ones Jessie and James wore.

"Ash, take care of Meloetta!" Ridley said. "I'll take care of these guys!"

We took off out of the Haze and into the forest.

"Where are we going?" Iris said.

"As far away as possible!" Ash said.

"_Meloetta, you should turn invisible._" Zorua said.

"Yes. But hold onto me and don't let go, okay?" I said.

"_Okay..._" Meloetta said. She turned invisible and I felt her tight and trembling grip on my sweater.

As we ran, a circle of Will-O-Wisp surrounded us. A Yamask and Woobat came out, followed by Jessie, James, and Meowth flying on jetpacks and wearing strange goggles.

"Yamask, Will-O-Wisp!" James cried. His goggled adjusted and he pointed straight at me.

I cast a shield of Protect around us as the Will-O-Wisp collided with it. I gasped. "They can see Meloetta!" I said.

"What do you want with Meloetta?!" Iris said.

"Telling you would be a waste of breath." James said.

"But thanks for everything!" Jessie said.

"What?!" Ash said.

"Thanks to you twerps, you coaxed Meloetta to sing that song." James said.

"You're _not_ getting Meloetta! Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

Ash and Cilan called out their Pokémon as Pikachu attacked.

"Ash, Rylee, now's your chance!" Cilan said.

"We'll hold them back! Go!" Iris said.

"Okay." Ash and I said.

_"Keep holding on, Meloetta."_ I said. Meloetta's grip tightened, if it was possible.

We ran into the Haze Yamask created. As we ran, a Persian leaped from the bushes. We jumped out of the way. It turned to us and growled. A man wearing a navy blue suit and special goggles floated in on a hover scooter. Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket.

"Meloetta, I know you're here." Giovanni said. "Make it easy on yourself and come out."

"Don't listen to him." I whispered. "Everything's gonna be all right."

"Persian, use Shadow Claw."

"Pikachu, Iron Tail!" Pikachu's moved countered Persian's.

"Power Gem."

The beam of power slammed into Pikachu. He flew back into Ash and the two fell to the ground.

"_Ash!_" Meloetta cried, turning visible.

"It's okay, Meloetta." I said.

Suddenly, blue beams came down around Ash and Pikachu. I gasped at the Team Rocket helicopter looming over us. The blue beams formed into an energy box and encased Ash and Pikachu.

"Ash! No!" I cried.

I ran over and pounded my fists against the box, but it did nothing.

"Meloetta. Do as I say immediately." Giovanni said. "Or the boy and his Pikachu will be very sorry."

Slowly, the energy box began to shrink.

"What's going on?!" Ash cried.

"Ash!" I said. I turned to Giovanni. "Stop this, NOW!"

"You think you can strike fear into my heart?" Giovanni chuckled. "Your father would have a better chance at that."

"How do you know my father?! Let Ash and Pikachu go, or you'll be sorry!"

I held my hand out as a Hyper Beam began to build up. My eyes flared menacingly.

"_STOP!_" Meloetta cried. "_I'll go with you. Just please, don't hurt him!_"

"Meloetta, don't!" I said.

"Power Gem."

As my back was turned, Persian shot another beam of power. It slammed into my back. I cried out as I flew back and crashed into the ground.

"_Rylee!_" Meloetta cried. She, too, was encased in an energy box. She, Ash, and Pikachu were lifted up into the helicopter and it flew away.

"Rylee!" I heard Cilan and Iris call. Footsteps approached me. Cilan knelt down at my side and helped me sit up. I groaned.

"What happened?" Cilan said.

"They took her. They took Meloetta." I said. "Ash and Pikachu too."

I heard Ridley growl beside us.

"We... we have to go after them!" I said. I tried to stand, but pain coursed through my body. I choked back a sob and Cilan caught me as I fell back.

"You're hurt, Rylee. Don't try to move." Iris said.

"Meloetta needs me! She's counting on me to save her!"

I brought my hands together and summoned an orb of Heal Pulse. I absorbed it into my torso and let out a shaky sigh. Slowly, I stood up, and the healing powers melted away the pain and wounds. I looked to Cilan, Ridley, and Iris.

"Let's go. We have some friends to rescue." I said.

Meloetta's voice filled my mind; the second song that always set an uneasy feeling within me. I looked towards the ocean.

"I can hear Meloetta." Ridley said.

"Me too." I said. "We have to hurry back!"


	20. Through the Looking Glass

We returned to Cynthia's and told her everything there was to tell about what was happening. Ridley told us why Team Rocket wanted her power: to find an undersea temple that contained what's called the Reveal Glass. It has the power to change the forms of the Legendary Trio Landorus, Thundurus, and Tornadus. We piled into the cruiser. We moved so quickly, it felt like we barely touched the water. A beam of light pierced the sky and created a portal.

"Meloetta must be at the end of the light." I said. "Look!"

The light created a blanket of dark clouds that released terrible bolts of lightning. The temple came into view. The waves grew bigger and the wind picked up.

"Everyone, please hang on!" Jervis said, gripping the steering wheel.

Three portals opened in the sky, each with a different but familiar cry coming from it. The Legendary Trio emerged from the portals, but something was very off. We saw something falling from the temple.

"Ash!" we all cried. Ridley sent Golurk after him and caught him. We docked at the temple and climbed out.

"Ash, are you all right?" Iris said.

"Yeah. Meloetta's up there." Ash said. "Team Rocket wants to use the Reveal Glass to gain control of the Legendary Trio and take over Unova!"

"People have been trying to do that for centuries." Ridley said.

"We're going to stop them." I said, clenching my fists. "No matter what it takes!"

We called out our Pokémon: Dragonite, who took off immediately after the Legendary Trio, Pansage, Unfezant, Garchomp, and Articuno, with Zorua riding on her back. They all followed Dragonite to battle against the Trio.

"We've gotta help Meloetta!" I said. A red light showered the temple and a shriek pierced my mind. I cried out and clutched my head. "Meloetta!"

The Legendary Trio changed into their other forms. Giovanni's eyes flashed red.

"Listen to me, Legendary ones. you are now under my command. I order you to us your powers of wind, thunder, and land!" Giovanni said. He pointed towards Unova and a red circle with strange designs lit up beneath him. Another shriek from Meloetta echoed, each one increasing in agony. I fell to my knees.

"Don't give up, Meloetta!" Ridley groaned as he experienced the same pain and me.

I let out a frustrated growl and ran toward the temple steps.

"I command you to show them your true power!" Giovanni cried.

The circle lit up even more and Meloetta screamed. I collapsed against the stairs. "I'm coming, Meloetta! Articuno!"

I climbed a few steps before planting my foot against one and pushing myself into the air. Articuno swept under my feet and I landed on her back. She carried me to the top of the temple and dropped me off before returning to her battle.

"Team Rocket, STOP!" I cried. They turned to me. I growled with I locked eyes with Dr. Zager. When I broke away, I gasped at the sight of the steadily growing ice that spread across the ocean and began to cover cities. I clenched my fists.

"You really think you can stop us?!" Giovanni said, thrusting his arm up.

The Legendary Trio attacked with Discharge, Razor Wind, and Stone Edge. My eyes went ablaze and I shot my hands out, creating a dome of Protect. The attacks made contact with my shield. I grunted at the impact, but I set my stance and held my ground. The attacks ceased and I dispelled the Protect.

"I can, and I _will_." I said. "Meloetta is coming with me!"

"Like that's ever going to happen!" Jessie said.

Meloetta screamed again. I clutched my head and winced.

"Why are you doing this?! You're hurting her!" I cried. "Why are you making Meloetta and so many Pokémon suffer?!"

"Because Pokémon are nothing but a business." Giovanni said. "What is needed to succeed? Sacrifice. The business must succeed at any cost."

"Are you serious?! Pokémon aren't tools, much less to be used for your 'business'! They're our friends!" I growled. "I won't lose to you! No matter what plans you may have, I'll stop every last one of them!"

Giovanni stared at me, flabbergasted, but it melted into a smug smile. "You continually insist on getting on my nerves. Just like a trainer I once met long ago." he said. "He had that special fire that burned within him, a sparkle in his eyes that would never dim. He reminded me of myself. You both share that fire... but I will be the one that extinguishes it!"

The eyes of the Legendary Trio and Meloetta burned red. I scowled and stood firm.

"Rylee!" Ash called, running beside me. Pikachu growled. Its body sparked with blue electricity. "We're here to help! Pikachu, Electro Ball!"

Pikachu jumped into the air and as he formed the Electro Ball, it grew to the size of Cynthia's cruiser.

"Do it!" Ash and I cried.

Pikachu released the Electro Ball. It slammed into the tall pedestal Giovanni and Team Rocket stood on and obliterated it. As Giovanni cried out, I looked up to see Meloetta's diamond-shaped prison release her and she fell to the ground.

"Meloetta!" I cried. I ran forward and leaped off the edge into the air. I reached up and wrapped my arms around her. As relief flooded through my body, we fell together to the ground.

"_Rylee!_" Our freefall ceased as I landed on something soft that carried me back to the temple.

"_Think you could leave us out of the fun?_" Articuno said.

I laughed. "Wouldn't dream of it. Thank you."

"_Come on! I wanna kick some Team Rocket butt!_" Zorua cried.

We landed on the ground and our friends rushed to us.

"Rylee! Where's Meloetta?" Iris said.

"Right here." I said, opening my arms to show them Meloetta. She looked up at me with an awed grin. "Don't worry, Meloetta. You're safe now."

"_Thank you!_" Meloetta cried, burying her face into my shoulder. "_Thank you... I knew you would save me. You really are a Pokémon Guardian._"

"Filthy twerps!" James said.

"We gotta get it back!" Meowth said.

"No..." Giovanni growled. "I no longer need Meloetta!"

Giovanni stood up and lifted his head. His eyes were completely red and a strange symbol glowed on his forehead. Giovanni chuckled.

"I feel _wonderful_! I live for destruction!" he cried.

The circle platform he stood on glowed red and the Legendary Trio roared.

"This must be the effect of losing Meloetta!" Dr. Zager said.

"Now, my servants, DESTROY Unova!" Giovanni said.

"What? Destroy?!" Jessie said.

"We only wanted to conquer the region!" James said. "Why is this happening?!"

"The Legendary Trio acts as a force of nature, but Meloetta is the balance that maintains the sanity of whoever summons them." Ridley said. "However, now that Meloetta is gone, he is being completely consumed by his own evil ambitions and his goal is now turned to destruction and chaos!"

I handed Meloetta to Ridley and stepped forward. I watched our Pokémon continue to fight and get beaten up by the possessed Trio.

* * *

"SAVE THE BOSS!" the Team Rocket trio cried. They lunged and tackled Giovanni off the platform. The design on his forehead and on the platform disappeared. Team Rocket picked Giovanni up and started walking away.

"Hey, where are you going?!" Ash said.

"Yamask, use Haze."

Black fog covered the area. Unfezant dispersed the fog and the Team helicopter rose in the air.

"There's no doubt that is one special Pikachu." Jessie said.

"Yes." James said.

A grimace fermented on Giovanni's face.

"Mr. Giovanni." Dr. Zager said.

"Yes, I know." Giovanni said. "That little girl... Reshiram's daughter. It's only a matter of time before Ghetsis finds her."

"And if Ghetsis finds her, you know who else will..."

Giovanni smiled. "Yes. The Legendary Trio guaranteed the reunion. The Pokémon Guardians will only get stronger once they are together. Soon the girl will learn the truth."

Giovanni stared at the undersea temple until it grew out of sight.

* * *

"The Legendary Trio is out of control!" I said. "We've gotta calm them down!"

Ridley and Meloetta ran down to the platform. Ridley placed the Reveal Glass in its pedestal. "Reveal Glass, please grant my wish. Calm the rage that threatens Unova." he said.

The Reveal Glass and the platform glowed white. Meloetta flew up into the air and beams of lights surrounded her in a ball. She held her hands together and began to sing. I brought my hands together and bowed my head.

"Thundurus. Tornadus. Landorus. Release the anger that has been forced upon you and have peace." I said.

The Reveal Glass rose into the air. The Legendary Trio approached Meloetta and glowed white. The light subsided and they changed back to their original forms.

"_What... what became of us, daughter of Reshiram?_" Landorus said.

"An evil organization called Team Rocket summoned you. They used the Reveal Glass and gained control of you. They almost made you destroy Unova!" I said. "But everything's okay now. You're safe, thanks to Meloetta and my friends."

"Don't forget about you, Rylee!" Iris said.

"_We thank you._" Tornadus said.

"_We are forever grateful to you._" Thundurus said.

"Aw shucks." Ash said. "It was no big deal."

"_Rylee._" Landorus said. "_Do you still have the necklace we gave you?_"

"Yes." I said, touching the bump of the necklace under my sweater. "But Alyssa doesn't have the other one."

"_What do you mean?_"

"You said there is only one other necklace like this in the world. The engraving on it says sister, so I assumed my sister, Alyssa, had it. But she doesn't." I sighed. "Who has the other necklace?"

The Legendary Trio chuckled.

"_You will see him again. In due time._" Landorus said.

"Him? Him who?" I said.

"_When the time is right, your lost loved one will return. He holds the answers, and so does your father._" Tornadus said.

"Lost loved one? But I only have my mom, dad and Alyssa."

"_In due time, Rylee. In due time._" Thundurus said.

"Well, all right then." I said. "Thank you."

We watched from the cruiser as the temple sunk back into the ocean, hopefully never to be seen again.

"I can't believe Team Rocket would do something that bad." Ash said.

"It seems conflict never stops." Ridley said. "Makes me wonder if people's hearts have changed at all since ancient times."

"But there are people who fight for the good too." Cynthia said. "Not everybody possesses the desire for conflict and conquering of others. I'm sure someday, people will be able to listen to Meloetta's song and live in peace."

* * *

We landed on the shore and faced Ridley, Golurk, and Meloetta. Oshawott tried to contain himself, but he began to excessively weep.

"Because of all you've done, we can now go back home and live in peace." Ridley said.

"_Thank you!_" Meloetta said, which only made Oshawott's blubbering worse.

"Goodbye, Meloetta." Iris said.

"Please, give our best to the Protectors." Cilan said.

"Take care of yourself, Meloetta." Ash said.

Meloetta flew over to me.

"The time we spent together was wonderful. I'll never forget you, Meloetta." I said.

Meloetta flew into my arms. "_I'll miss you, Rylee._" she whispered. "_Thank you so much for everything._"

"I'll miss you too." I said, trying to keep my voice steady. "Goodbye."

Golurk picked its feet up and began to take off.

"_Goodbye, everyone!_" Meloetta cried, flying after Golurk and Ridley. As they waved, Meloetta's beautiful voice filled the air, singing a song I didn't recognize. We waved goodbye. I wiped a tear from my eye.

"So this is what it means to be a Pokémon Guardian." I said. "A valiant voice for both Pokémon and people. It doesn't sound so bad when you think about it."

"What you do is incredible." Cilan said. "You help bring balance to our two worlds. I can't imagine how difficult it must be."

"Well, it's easier... because I have you with me."

Cilan looked at me and smiled, placing a hand on his hip. Realizing what I just said, I blushed and looked away.

"I mean... you and Ash and Iris." I said.

Nervously looking up at him, the smile on his face widened. I chuckled sheepishly.

* * *

The next day, Cynthia told us the Unova League was being held in Vertress City this year. When we said our goodbyes, they suggested to go through Opelucid City on our way. Iris, who looked nervous at the mention of Opelucid City, quickly suggested instead that we go through the Village of Dragons, her home.

"Yes!" Ash cried, pumping his fist in the air. "Unova League, here we come!"


	21. Beauty Is Only Skin Deep

We stopped along the path and had lunch. As we ate, a fight broke out between Pignite and Oshawott. Pikachu tried to intervene, but Oshawott shot a Hydro Pump at Pignite. He dodged and it hit Emolga. She went flying into the trees.

"Emolga!" Iris cried.

The trees rustled, followed by the cry of a woman.

"What was that?" Ash said with a sandwich sticking out of his mouth and two more in his hands.

We found Emolga laying upside-down against a cliff.

"Emolga!" Iris said, picking her up. "Poor thing..."

"Such an unattractive Emolga!" a voice hissed. "Don't tell me that Pokémon belongs to _you_?"

Three girls stood above us, looking down at us both literally and idiomatically.

"Unattractive?!" Iris said. "Who do you think you are?!"

"Hmph! My name is Moira!" the front girl said. She had long curly hair, blue eyes and she wore a pink dress. She extended her hand to the side. "And this is the most beautiful Pokémon in all of the Unova region, Cinccino!"

"My name is Mona." the second girl said. She had dark teal hair and she wore an orange and yellow dress. "And this is the second most beautiful Pokémon in the Unova region, Lilligant."

"My name is Cher." the third girl said, who surprised me with her unusually low voice. Her auburn hair was tied back in a low ponytail and she wore a royal blue soldier shirt with white pants and riding boots. "This is the third most beautiful Pokémon in the Unova region, Roserade."

"I innocently let my Cinccino out to become more beautiful by getting some fresh air, when your _unattractive_ Emolga attacked it, putting its beauty in jeopardy!" Moira said. "The _nerve_ of your unsightly Pokémon!"

"You tell them, Moira!" Mona said.

"How DARE you!" Iris growled.

"And then there's your Snivy! It's unattractive on the outside AND the inside!" Moira said. "All of your Pokémon are unattractive. Nothing more than a pile of rubbish! You should find yourself some more attractive Pokémon. We must leave before the unattractiveness rubs off on us!"

"I'd hate to meet their parents." I mumbled.

"Stop right there!" Iris cried.

The three girls piled into a white van with roses on it. Iris stopped and caught her breath.

"Guess that's that..." Cilan said.

Iris cried out in frustration. "Oh, no it's not!" she said, stomping down the path.

"Iris, where are you going?" Ash said.

* * *

"A bus with flower marks on it? You must be talking about the Flower Garden Troupe!" a merchant lady said. "They're the most famous theater troupe in the whole region! No one puts on a show the way those gals do!"

"That explains their need for over-dramatization." I said, crossing my arms.

"The cast is made up entirely of attractive women and their lovely female Pokémon! They have their own headquarters. It's really close by. Problem is, men aren't allowed in. It's women only! You won't get past the front door."

* * *

We peeked our heads past the stone gates. The mansion of the Flower Garden Troupe but Mr. Hatterly's house to shame.

"Looks like the perfect headquarters for a bunch of stuck-up girls." Iris growled. "Let's go give 'em a piece of our mind!"

"You heard what the lady said. Guys aren't allowed to go in there!" Ash said.

Iris glanced at me. Realization hit me and I giggled.

"Don't worry, leave this to us!" Iris said.

Cilan and Ash shared worried looks.

* * *

Iris stepped out wearing a long, green dress. Multiple necklaces decorated her neck and a tiara rested in her updo.

"How do I look?" Iris said.

"Attractive." I chuckled.

"Oh, MAN!" Ash cried.

"I don't think this is really my style..." Cilan said.

Ash and Cilan stepped out of the dressing rooms. Ash wore a blue and white dress with pink bows lining down the chest. His head was covered in a long pink wig with yellow bows on each side of his head. Cilan wore a long pink dress with a rose on his chest. He wore an updoed blond wig adorned with roses.

Zorua and I doubled over in laughter.

"Come ON! What's the point of this anyway?!" Ash cried.

"Remember what Moira said about Snivy?" Iris said, adjusting a pink bow into Pansage's tuft of green fur.

"Don't worry, you all look positively lovely!" I said, wiping the joyful tears from my eyes.

"Oh, yeah?! What about you?!" Ash said.

"Relax, Ashley. You guys go on ahead while I find something."

"Come on, now!" Iris said, pulling the two boys out the door.

"Have fun! Don't break a nail!" I laughed.

"Stop laughing!" Ash and Cilan cried, which only made me giggle harder.

* * *

"There's nothing here that interests me..." I said, sifting through a clothing rack.

"_Hey, wait._" Zorua said. "_Check this one out._"

She guided me to a rack and I pulled out the dress she mentioned. It was a floor-length dress with a short turtleneck collar. The neck and chest were a light green color, curving downward to a point above my bellybutton. The lower half was a regular green. The skirt was long, white, and ruched, reaching to the ground, with a white bow on each side.

"This looks just like..." I said.

Zorua nodded and her eyes sparkled. "_Come on, try it on!_" she said.

"All right."

I tried the dress on and looked in the mirror.

"_Oh my..._" Zorua said. "_Rylee, you look amazing!_"

"Really?" I said, twisting my hips so the fabric swished. I wore my necklace and Articuno on the outside. "Celebi. This dress looked exactly like one."

"_Now we have the dress. Let's go and help the others._"Zorua said.

"Wait, what about you?" I said. "I wonder..."

"_What?_"

"You know, I've always wondered what you would look like if you were a human. You can change into other people and Pokémon. Why not create a version of yourself?" I said. "Humor me?"

Zorua reeled back in surprise, but it changed to thoughtfulness.

"_Hm... a human version of me?_" she said. "_Let me see..._"

She jumped in the air and glowed purple. She landed on the ground and I gasped. Her hair was long and slate gray. Maroon bangs covered her forehead. Her hair covered her ears, but every now and then I caught glimpses of the pointedness. She wore a plain red shirt with short sleeves and a long black cardigan, dark denim shorts that were once jeans, but they were ripped and torn a little and now ended an inch above her knees, long black socks that ended at her shins, and black combat boots with red laces. A black fur infinity scarf circled her neck. Her chocolate brown eyes sparkled when she looked in the mirror.

"_We look GOOD._" Zorua said.

"I think that could be handy in the future." I said. Zorua styled my hair in a braided bun, similar to the hairstyle used in Luke's movie back at Virbank City. "Now we're ready. Let's go."

Zorua nodded and changed back into her Pokémon form and followed me out the door.

* * *

~TPPOV~

Cilan and Pansage wearily climbed out of the pit of mud that surrounded the battlefield. "Double Mud Bomb..." Cilan groaned as he wiped mud off his face.

The three Garden Troupe members laughed.

"Now, who's next?" Moira said. "Who would like to go up against me and my Cinccino?"

Iris growled. As she took a step forward and opened her mouth, the door opened.

"Excuse me?" Rylee poked her head into the room and Ash sighed in relief.

"And just who are _you_?" Moira said.

Rylee stepped into the room and approached the group. Zorua trotted alongside her. "My name is Rylee, and I am a dear friend of Iris. I apologize for being late." Rylee looked at Iris and winked. "It would be an honor to battle against you, Moira."

"Hm... very well, then. I accept."

"Hey, Cilan, how come your face is all red?" Ash whispered.

"Huh?! It's not red!" Cilan mumbled in a high-pitched voice.

Rylee turned to see Ash with his arms crossed. Cilan stared at the ground, his face as red as a beet.

"I believe Cilanor is a little jealous of how beautiful you look." Mona said. "I bet any boy you meet would be dazzled by your beauty!"

"Mona!" Cher hissed.

"Beautiful?" Rylee cleared her throat and blushed. "Um... anyways... our battle?"

"Yes." Moira said. She smirked. "Don't be surprised when you lose."

Rylee returned the smile. "Believe me, I plan on winning this."

They stood on opposite sides of the battlefield.

"Ready, Cinccino-ette?" Moira said.

Rylee smiled and closed her hand around Articuno's PokéBall. "Okay, come on out, Articuno!"

Articuno came out of the PokéBall and let out a cry. Cher, Moira, and Mona gaped at the Freeze Pokémon.

"What grace!" Mona said.

"It's elegance and beauty put the stars to shame!" Cher said.

Moira collected herself and glared at her partners. "I will admit, your Articuno's beauty is astounding, but it will never surpass my Cinccino!"

"Say that again after I cover you in mud." Rylee said.

Moira scowled. "Cinccino, Tail Slap!"

Cinccino's tail glowed white and it lunged forward, slapping Articuno twice in the face.

"Ice Beam!" The attack brushed against Cinccino, causing a layer of icy frost to build on her fur. She shook it away and an idea hatched in Rylee's eyes.

"What do you think she's up to?" Cilan said.

"I don't know..." Ash said.

"Whatever it is, I hope it helps her win!" Iris said. "Let's go, Rylee!"

"Use Ice Beam again!"

Articuno used Ice beam several times in a row, only creating more frost that coated Cinccino's fur, which she shook off casually.

"I've had enough of this!" Moira said. "Use Hyper Beam!"

"Counter with Shadow Chill!" The attacks were equal in strength. "Ram into Cinccino using Protect!"

Articuno summoned a shield of Protect and slammed into Cinccino, sending it back.

"Oh, Cinccino-ette, no!"

"Oh, yes! Now, Steel Wing!" Articuno's wings glowed silver and it zoomed forward, slamming its wings into Cinccino. She fell backward into Moira and the two fell into the mud. Everyone gasped.

"How unattractive could we get?!" Moira cried. Cinccino tried to shake off the mud, but it stuck to her fur. "Huh? Why can't you shake off the mud, Cinccino-ette?"

Rylee walked to the edge of the battlefield and placed her hands on her hips.

"You must've not paid enough attention." she said. "See, during our battle, Articuno's Ice Beam froze off all the oil on Cinccino's lovely fur."

"Is that possible?" Moira said, awestruck. "Why, the nerve of you impudent little cheaters!"

A woman walked into the room and clapped. She had blue-black hair and wore a white suit.

Moira gasped. "Miss Chandler."

"I must say, that was a wonderful battle!" Miss Chandler said. "Congratulations on beating Moira, our star! I must ask, would you all agree to appear on the Flower Garden Troupe stage?"

"Uh... I think we're gonna have to pass!" Ash said.

"We need to practice more!" Cilan said.

"But thank you so much for the invitation!" Iris said.

"We really gotta go!" Rylee said.

The four ran out of the room and out through the gates of the headquarters.

"Wait!" Miss Chandler called.

* * *

~RYLEE~

We stepped out of the clothing shop, back in our normal clothes.

"Man, am I glad that's over with!" Ash said. He turned to Iris. "Satisfied?"

"I'm satisfied and then some!" Iris said. "Thanks for teaching Moira a lesson, Rylee."

"No problem. It was easy." I said.

"Who'd ever thought they'd ask us to work with them?" Cilan said.

"That fancy dress was just your style!" Ash said. "You might've fit right in!"

Cilan laughed. "Thanks, but let's get real."

Iris and I laughed.

"And besides, I have all the pictures I need in my camera!" I snickered.

"You _WHAT_?!" Ash and Cilan cried.

I held up my camera and swung it teasingly on my finger. "I'm sure your mom would love to see these, Ash." I said. "And Cilan, I bet your brothers would get a kick out of it!"

Ash and Cilan cried out.

"I'd never live it down!" Cilan said.

"Gimme that camera!" Ash cried. He lunged towards me, but I side-stepped and he fell to the ground.

"Nice try." I said.

"Oh yeah?!"

Ash reached up and wrapped his arms around my waist. I yelped as we both fell to the ground.

"Hand over the camera!"

"In your dreams!"

"Fine, then, have it your way!" Ash dug his fingers into my side. I squirmed.

"Ash, get off!" I said through my laughter.

"Cilan, get the camera!"

"Iris, help me!"

"I'm staying out of this one." Iris said.

I clutched the camera in my hands. Cilan knelt beside us and grabbed onto it.

"Come on, Rylee." Cilan said.

"No, let go!"

He rolled his eyes. "Fine, I see how it is." He yanked the camera back, pulling my arms forward, and he reached over and tickled my underarm. Ash tickled the bare patch of skin on my stomach that was exposed when my arms came up. I yelped and retreated my arms back to my sides.

"G-give that back!"

Cilan sifted through the pictures while Ash kept me, literally, rolling on the floor laughing.

"Got 'em!" he said. "And deleted!"

Ash stopped and I shoved him off of me, letting out the last of my giggles.

"Not... fair." I said. "All right, you win..."

Ash grinned and helped me up.

"Now that that's taken care of... Vertress City, here we come!" he cried, pumping his fist into the air.

As Cilan and Ash walked ahead of us, Iris and Zorua noticed the grin growing on my face.

"What's with the smile?" Zorua said.

"A good photographer always backs up her photos." I chuckled. "And makes copies."

Iris and Zorua giggled and we caught up with the boys.


	22. Launching Into The League

As we reached the hill crest, Iris, Cilan, and Ash gasped as we saw Vertress City below us.

"All right, Vertress City!" Ash cried. "I can't wait to win the Unova League!"

We ran down the hill into the markets.

"The journey was long, but it was sure worth it!" Ash said.

"Sure was. And so many adventures!" Iris said.

"I've lost count!" Cilan said.

I stared at the ground.

"Are you okay, Rylee?" Iris said. "Aren't you excited to be here?"

"Uh... yeah, of course." I said.

"First, registration!" Ash said. "Let's go!"

* * *

As we made our way to registration, we ran into our friends: Bianca, Stephan, Virgil, and Trip (who was unusually nicer than usual). We all entered the stadium.

"Please place your Pokédex here so it can be scanned." Nurse Joy said.

Ash placed his Pokédex on the scanner. With each badge that popped onto the screen, more memories came to mind and my heart broke into more pieces.

"Thank you. You are now registered!" Nurse Joy said.

"All right!" Ash said. "One step closer to winning the Unova League!"

* * *

There was a bit of a panic after we left the building. We ran into our friend Cameron, who had been camping out for three days but didn't think to register. Luckily, Nurse Joy still let him register even after it closed. We went to our rooms, settled in, then went down to eat dinner. My stomach churned too much for me to eat anything, for fear it would come back up soon after. As I laid in bed, my heart was racing too quickly for me to sleep. I listened to the steady breathing of my friends. I heard someone stir.

"Sorry, Pikachu." Ash whispered. "I'm just having a hard time falling asleep."

I peeked through my covers carefully and watched Ash look out the window with Pikachu on his shoulder. Determination glittered in his eyes.

"Check it out." he said, gazing at the stadium. Multicolored spotlights shined and swayed in the sky. "Starting tomorrow, that's where we'll be! I bet the stadium's gonna be packed!"

Pikachu chattered in excitement.

"All this traveling in the Unova region, just so we can compete in the Unova League." Ash said. "We've battled against a bunch of different gym leaders, haven't we? Ya know, all those gym leaders got us here. Pikachu, we'll win this all for them! We're gonna show them what we're made of!"

I turned over as Iris sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Go to sleep, Ash. You're gonna have to get some rest if you wanna do well tomorrow." she mumbled.

"Yeah, right. Off to bed." Ash said.

I heard Ash shuffle over and climb into bed. As his breathing mixed into the air, tears welled up in my eyes.

"It's over." I whispered. "And after this, I'll have to say goodbye. I don't want this to end."

I clutched Articuno to my heart and silently wept for an hour until sleep finally overwhelmed me.

* * *

Despite my lack of sleep, the bright sunlight and roaring crowds woke me up. Iris, Cilan and I got ready and took our seats in the stadium. We scanned through all the trainers that stood on the battlefield. Ash and our friends huddled together in a group.

"It is my great honor to welcome you all to the Unova League!" Freddy "the Scoop" cried into the microphone. The trainers cheered and pumped their fists excitedly in the air.

"Look at all those trainers!" Iris said. "This is going to be so great!"

"I hope Ash has got what it takes." Cilan said.

I held my hands together tightly. "It'd be a shame if he lost..." I said.

"Huh?" Iris and Cilan said. I stared at the ground.

* * *

The preliminary round came to an end. Stephan, Bianca, Virgil, and Cameron made it to the first round. Ash fought against Trip, and Ash was the victor, but not before a long and intense battle. Cilan and Ash went to the sauna while Iris and I went with Pikachu, Riolu, and Oshawott to the pools. The three Pokémon kicked back in the mini hot tub while Iris and I sat on the edge of another and stuck our feet into the warm water.

"What's wrong, Rylee?" Iris said.

"I'm fine, why do you ask that?" I said.

"No, you're not. You've been really sad ever since we got here." Iris rested her hand on top of mine. "I heard you crying last night. Tell me what's the matter, please."

I stared into the water, nervously wiggling my toes against the jets.

"I'm scared. The Unova League was the main goal of this journey." I said. My chin quivered. "But now that we're here, once it's over, that means I'll have to say goodbye to you and Ash and Cilan. And I... I don't want that! I love traveling with you guys, and the thought of never seeing you again terrifies me!"

Tears pooled in my eyes. Iris stared at me with sad eyes. She reached out and wrapped her arms around me, resting her head on my shoulder. She remained still and silent until I stopped crying.

"Don't worry about that. We'll never say goodbye to each other. I promise. This journey might come to an end someday, but you'll still have the memories." Iris said. "And besides... I'm not letting you go that easily. The same goes for Ash and Cilan. We love you and we'll always be there for each other no matter what."

I smiled and returned the hug. "Thanks." I said.

We abruptly pulled away when we heard Oshawott scream. We turned to see Riolu and Pikachu standing over the hot tub. Oshawott floated on the surface, sparking with electricity with swirls in his eyes. Ash, Cameron, and Stephan ran in.

"Oshawott, what happened?!" Ash cried. "OSHAWOTT!"

Oshawott groaned, and I couldn't help but laugh. Iris laughed beside me, and our echos rejuvenated my spirits. I hoped what Iris said was true. I'll hold these memories of my friends in my heart forever.


	23. Talking Trash

The next morning, we watched the first round. Ash, Cameron, Stephan, and Virgil made it to the next round. We saw the matching for the second round and Ash and Stephan were to battle each other tomorrow morning.

"It's going to be really interesting to see Ash and Stephan battle." Iris said.

"It's gonna be a three-on-three battle, so I'm sure they're both having a hard time choosing their Pokémon, since they know each other so well." Cilan said.

"Ash and Stephan will definitely be giving their all tomorrow." I said.

Suddenly, Bianca stopped and screamed.

"You look like you saw a Ghost-type Pokémon." Iris said.

"I just remembered Castelia Cones go on sale today!" Bianca said.

"Um, in case you forgot, we're in _Vertress_ City." I said.

"They have them here for the Unova League!" Bianca's eyebrow twitched. "But you can only get them today! I can't miss this opportunity to bite into a Castelia Cone!" Bianca turned around and ran off.

"That Bianca..."

"She sure is driven." Cilan said. "Can't say I blame her."

"We should get some later today!" Iris said.

We met up with Ash after he finished chatting with Stephan and Cameron.

"Great job today, Ash!" Iris said.

"Best of luck in the next round." I said.

"Make sure you keep your guard up!"

"_Hey!_" Pikachu cried.

"What?" I said.

"_Axew's gone!_"

I looked at Iris. "Where's Axew?"

"Huh?!" Iris said. She looked at her empty shoulder and screamed. "Axew! Where are you?!"

We searched around the building, but we didn't see him anywhere. We went to the control room with Virgil.

"It doesn't make sense that Axew would just disappear..." Ash said.

"Disappearing without a trace? Sounds like we've got a mystery on our hands! And there's one person that can solve this case!" Cilan cried, putting on his detective hat and taking out his magnifying glass. "Me! It's DETECTIVE TIME-"

"Cilan, can you keep it down?!" Iris said as she scanned the screens. "I can't concentrate!"

"Yes, ma'am..." Cilan hung his head in shame, causing his hat to fall to the ground. I picked up the hat, brushed it off, and placed it back onto his head.

"Maybe some other time." I said.

Cilan stood up straight and gave me a small smile before pulling his hat down over his eyes.

"Look! There he is!" Ash pointed to one of the screens.

"Looks like he's heading for the center of the city." Virgil said. "Let's go!"

* * *

We received directions from Bianca and Cameron during our search, but not before Bianca accidentally rammed Ash into the fountain for the millionth time and Iris tackled Cameron's tent and caused it to collapse. We sent Emolga, Zorua, Pikachu, Scraggy, and Oshawott out another way to look for Axew.

* * *

~ZORUA~

"_Where in the world can an Axew be around here?!_" Pikachu said.

"_This is boring! My feet hurt!_" Oshawott grumbled.

"_Well, we would've been done with this sooner if you didn't binge on that entire box of berries._" I said, rolling my eyes.

"_But then I would be hungry, and it's never good when I'm hungry!_"

"_You must be starving all the time, then._" Pikachu mumbled.

"_WHAT?!_"

"_Guys, look, it's Axew!_" Emolga cried from the air.

We ran down the path and found Axew sitting on a tree stump.

"_Axew!_" I called.

Axew saw us and tears welled up in his eyes. "_Guys!_" He hopped off the tree trunk and ran over to us, falling into Pikachu's embrace.

"_Thank goodness you're okay!_" Scraggy said.

The sound of thundering footsteps startled us. We turned around to see a Garbodor and four little Trubbishes standing in front of him.

"_Is this them?_" Garbodor said.

One of the Trubbish pointed at Oshawott. "_It was him!_"

Garbodor growled and raised its hand. We screamed.

"_RUN!_" Axew cried.

We turned and ran down the path. The Trubbish and Garbodor closed in behind us. Garbodor used Gunk Shot and launched a bag of garbage at us. The garbage exploded, sending toxic trash everywhere. The impact sent us flying in different directions. Pikachu caught himself and faced the garbage Pokémon.

"_Please, stop!_" Pikachu cried.

"_What's your problem?!_" I said. "_We didn't do anything to you!_"

Garbodor ignored us and lifted his nozzle hand, sending blobs of Acid Spray at us. We jumped out of the way and continued running. The path led us to a cliff with a sunset-kissed river below.

"_What are we gonna do?!_" Pikachu said.

Garbodor emerged from the bushes and growled. As he approached, I summoned a shield of Protect that covered us.

"_Back off!_" I said. "_Why are you so mad?!_"

"_Yeah, we didn't do anything, did we?_" Pikachu said.

"_Care to explain?_" Garbodor said to the Trubbish.

"_It was that Oshawott!_" they cried, stomping their feet on the ground. "_He ate all our food!_"

Oshawott cried out.

"_Really?_" Pikachu said.

"_Smooth move, doofus._" Emolga said.

Oshawott stepped past my Protect and blushed in embarrassment. "_Heh, uh... I'm really sorry about that..._" he said.

Garbodor didn't appreciate it. He summoned another Toxic. Oshawott retreated back behind the safety of the Protect. The toxic garbage crashed into the Protect, followed by a series of Mud Shots from the Trubbish. I cringed with every hit as the impact sent me back. The Trubbish shot one more round of Mud Shots. The power shattered the Protect and I skid back against the ground, only a foot away from the cliff side.

"_Zorua!_" Pikachu said.

Garbodor summoned another Toxic. Pikachu and Emolga's cheeks sparked with electricity. As Garbodor chucked the poisoned trash at us, I closed my eyes and braced myself. After a few seconds of nothing, I opened my eyes to a new shield of Protect. Rylee stood in front of us, her hand stretched out and her eyes flaring their purple iris color.

"Garbodor, that is enough." she said, dispelling the Protect.

"_Rylee!_" we all cried.

"I'm glad you're okay." Rylee said. "Now, care to explain why these Pokémon are ticked off at you?"

Everyone glared at Oshawott, who cowered back and blushed.

"I thought so."

Everyone emerged from the bushes.

"Axew!" Iris cried.

"_Iris!_" Axew said.

"Oshawott ate all of the fruit that was meant for the Trubbish." Virgil said. "That's why they're so mad."

"Oshawott, is that true?!" Ash said.

"_I said I was sorry!_" Oshawott said.

"Look, Garbodor, we really are sorry about the fruit. Oshawott didn't know it was for you." Rylee said.

"_That's still no excuse!_" Garbodor roared. As he chucked another Toxic at us, Rylee cast another shield of Protect and Virgil called out Umbreon and had it use Shadow Ball to destroy it.

"You've gotta calm down, Garbodor!" Virgil said. He pulled out a small silver bell. "Listen to this!"

The bell tingled, carrying the sound to the angered garbage Pokémon. Their enraged scowls softened to relaxed expressions.

"A Soothe Bell! Wow-WEE! It really works!" Bianca said.

"I'd expect no less from a member of the Pokémon Rescue Squad!" Cilan said.

"Now that they've calm down, I know how we can make it up to them." Rylee said.

* * *

~RYLEE~

Ash and Cilan set down a large tray filled with a variety of berries in front of Garbodor and the Trubbish.

"There, dig in! Eat as much as you want!" Ash said.

"_Thank you._" Garbodor said.

"_Thanks!_" the Trubbish chimed.

Oshawott even offered a bowl of Pokémon food.

"I made that food especially for you and Garbodor." Cilan said to a Trubbish. "Do you like it?"

Trubbish pumped its debris hand in the air, and translation wasn't needed. The sound of explosions rang in the air. We looked up in the sky and saw fireworks erupting.

"Oh, yeah. It's Fireworks Day." Ash said. "Let's go check it out!"

* * *

The park was ablaze with a rainbow of different colors as the fireworks lit up on the lake and in the eyes of the eager spectators. Iris hugged Axew tightly in her arms. Zorua stood at my side in her human form and Cilan on the other side.

"Iris... told me about what happened a few days ago." Cilan said. I glanced at him as he watched the fireworks. His green eyes absorbed the mesh of colors that danced in the sky.

"Oh, really?" I chuckled. "The mouth on that girl. She's such a little kid."

"But what she said was the truth. This journey is far from over." Cilan said. Zorua caught on to what was happening and took a few big sidesteps away from us. "And... even if it was going to come to a close after the Unova League, I'd still want you to be with me in the future."

I smiled and stared at the ground.

"Thanks. I... really like traveling with you."

My cheeks tinted with blush. I held my arms and admired the grass beneath my feet. An arm wrapped around my shoulders. I stole a glance at Cilan, who pulled me closer to him. My cheeks turned a shade redder than red, but slowly, I relaxed and leaned against him. A small smile peeked onto his face. The heat of my cheeks faded as I returned my eyes to the fireworks. Colors continued to gush in the sky. I could hear Zorua giggling, most likely anticipating when she could tease me endlessly about this. I remembered the strange dream I had months ago, with the mysterious "Mika". I thought to ask him, but I set that aside for a later time, hoping to enjoy this for a little longer.

This felt... nice.


	24. N-ything is Possible

The next morning, Ash faced off against Stephan. It was a heated battle and both trainers put their all into it, but Ash rose victorious. After the round was over, the next round's matches were made. Ash was to battle against Cameron. That night, we sat around a table in the dining room.

"Ash, in honor of making it to the fourth round, I made you a feast!" Cilan said.

Ash's eyes sparkled as he gazed at the platters of food on the table. "Awesome!"

"Hey, I bet I can eat more croquettes than you!" Stephan said, nudging Ash with his elbow.

"Is that a challenge? Because I accept!"

"Ready, go!"

Bianca, Iris, and I stared as Ash and Stephan wildly stuffed their faces with food.

"And here I thought they weren't gonna act like little kids anymore." Iris said.

"Something as yummy as croquettes needs to be eaten slowly!" Bianca said, sitting with stick-straight posture and her nose turned up.

Simultaneously, Ash and Stephan beat their chests with their fists in attempt to clear the food sitting in their throats. They coughed and chugged their glasses of water, ending with a satisfied "Ahh!"

"If my mom were here, she'd beat the stuffing out of you." I chuckled.

* * *

We returned to our hotel room. Iris flopped down onto her bed and kicked her bare feet into the air. "So, Ash is battling Cameron tomorrow. I wonder what his 'secret weapon' he mentioned is."

"Whatever it may be, I'm sure it'll spice things up." Cilan said, glancing up from his book.

"I'm sure it'll have the crowd on the edge of their seats." I said.

"I'm on the edge of my seat wondering if you'll fall or not." Iris said.

I stood on the foot board of my bed with one foot raised, posed and poised like a flamingo. The palms of my hands were pressed together in front of my chest.

"Me? Fall? Please." I said, shifting to jazz hands. "Prepare to be amazed!"

I twirled around on one foot like a ballerina. After a twirl and a half, I lost my balance. I cried out and fell forward. I shot out my hand and created a platform of Protect that bounced me backwards. I landed on my back on Iris's bed.

"Oh, yeah. I'm real impressed." Iris said.

"So, I guess my dream of becoming a trapeze artist is gonna take some time." I said, which earned a laugh from my friends.

* * *

The next day, Ash and Cameron battle, a six-on-six... or, that is, a six-on-five, since Cameron only had five Pokémon. Even so, Cameron won the match, and his Riolu evolved into Lucario. The next matching, Virgil and Cameron were pitted against each other. The final match was over, and Virgil won the Unova League. That night, the stadium was ablaze with spotlights and fireworks. Virgil stood on a pedestal, holding his trophy and beaming with pride.

"Congratulations, Virgil!" I said. "Team Eevee was amazing!"

"Sure, it was awesome, but you won't beat me next time!" Cameron said.

"Thanks, guys." Virgil said. A helicopter hovered above us and landed. Virgil hopped into the helicopter alongside his older brother, Davy. "See you later!"

We waved goodbye as the helicopter took off.

"Wait, wait, wait, WAIT!" Bianca came barreling in and knocked Ash into the fountain.

"Is this ever gonna end?" Ash mumbled.

"Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry!" Bianca cried as Ash pulled himself out of the fountain. "Aw, I just missed him! And I brought him Castelia Cones for him and Team Eevee! Oh well, I'll just give them to you guys!"

Bianca handed each of us a Castelia Cone. Cameron and Lucario scarfed down their treats, said their farewells, and they and Bianca took off.

* * *

I stood in the center of the Unova League battlefield and looked up at the starry sky. I reached up and touched the locket that rested against my skin. I slipped it off and held it up. The dipping moon shined the last of its rays onto the necklace, reflecting off the single, purple, engraved word on the front: 'sister'.

"Could it be possible... that I have another sibling?" I said. "A mysterious sister from my past? If only my stubborn father would tell me the truth. I'm sick of riddles."

Images flooded into my mind. I saw myself as a young child, running around the front yard of my house.

* * *

_"Try and catch me!" I giggled._

_Alyssa chased after me, but I was too quick for her. As I ran, I suddenly bumped into something. Arms wrapped around me and kept me from moving._

_"Gotcha!" a voice giggled. A little boy._

_"Hey, lemme go!" I cried, squirming in the young stranger's arms. "Okay, okay! I'm it!"_

_Alyssa and the boy burst into a flurry of giggles._

* * *

As the images vanished, their laughter rang in my ears. I stared at my necklace.

"This holds the answers to my past." I said. Hope bubbled in my stomach. "Which means... this journey's not over yet. Not by a long shot!"

"Hey, Rylee!" a voice said.

"Come on, we gotta get going!" another voice said.

I turned around to see Ash, Iris, and Cilan standing at the door. I glanced back at the horizon. The sun started to wake, rising above the stadium and casting a pink and orange tint across the sky. Memories flashed in my mind, sequences of my journey playing out in my eyes, from first meeting my friends to the present. Happiness swelled in my heart as I turned back to my friends. They stood, watching me patiently, with big smiles. A tender expression swept across my face.

My friends... my future... they were waiting for me.

I nodded as a wide grin pierced my face.

"I'm coming!" I said, running over to them. We walked together out of the stadium. I clipped the locket back around my neck and lingered my touch on it. I braced myself for the unknown terror, truth, and painful acts of love that waited in the fogginess of the future.

But I knew that everything was going to be okay. Because hope is the flicker of a candle's flame in the darkness that makes everything worth it.

* * *

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**Thank you so much for reading my story! The next installment of Rylee's adventure, "N-ything is Possible", will begin next. With the title alone, I hope you guys have a pretty good idea of what's coming up next for Rylee. I can't wait to start posting this story because this is the climax of A Valiant Voice, and I'm excited for you to read all about it! If you recall from the summary of A Valiant Voice in my bio, I said that Rylee has "connections that trace back to Team Plasma and the Legendary Pokémon, Reshiram." Well, with "Black is the New Beginning", you learned how she is connected to Reshiram. In "N-ything is Possible", you're going to learn how she is connected to Team Plasma.**

**Stay tuned! Remember to review, and thanks again for reading!**


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